


Into the Pit

by TroopsOfDoom87



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Azula is nice in this story, Ba Sing Se is now a nightclub, Bay Area Thrash Metal, F/F, F/M, Gaang is in their 20s, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Independent record labels, JHOFFFILMS, Los Angeles, Metallica References, Municipal Waste is going to fuck you up, Other, Pizza Thrash, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trip, San Francisco Bay Area, Slayer references, Subtle Pantera references here and there, Thrash Metal bands, Thrash metal, Zuko is a metalhead, and so is his sister, she can be grumpy at times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:55:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TroopsOfDoom87/pseuds/TroopsOfDoom87
Summary: Zuko and Azula play in a thrash metal band called Realm of Koh, along with their two high school friends Sokka and Aang. When they receive a letter from a Los Angeles-based record label, they contemplate on hitting the road and encounter some very interesting events or experiences along the way.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 64





	1. Bonded by Blood

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfic I've ever written, goddamn...but for those who like metal music and Avatar, this one's for you guys.

It was a fairly warm, but eventful night in Republic City. A bustling city with a sizable population, one thing the location was known for is the underground music scene. The most notable was its metal scene, being present at the nightclub Ba Sing Se. In that nightclub were the sounds of a youthful and wild crowd of metalheads coming from all walks of life. A vibrant tea shop and bar named the Jasmine Dragon was a part of the nightclub, catering to drunk thrashers and people who wanted to treat themselves to a nice cup of jasmine tea. 

Guitar amplifiers were cranked to eleven, buzzsaw distortion was expelled out of the cabinets. The bass amplifier was producing a certain clanking sound, while the drums were at breakneck speed. Whoever was in charge of the live mix was going to give the audience in front of the band a case of tinnitus the moment they hit the hay. 

On the leftmost part of the stage was a young man who appeared to be in his early 20s, had a medium skin complexion, and piercing blue eyes. Sporting a Slayer T-shirt that had the South of Heaven artwork, blue skinny jeans, and a pair of Adidas Top Ten high tops; he was thrashing back and forth, with his long hair waving graciously. His fingers were laying down a couple of chord progressions and excessive divebomb noises on an ESP Gary Holt signature. 

To the left of him was a fair skinned man with gold eyes. He appeared to be around the same age as the guitarist and had shiny long black hair. He wore a Warbringer longsleeve and a torn pair of skinny jeans. Complimenting that uniform was a worn down pair of monochrome white Nike Air Force 1 high tops. What made him stand out was the scar that was on his right eye. Some say it was a birthmark of some sorts, others said he got it from being in a Slayer pit. He didn’t mind the claims though. The man rapidly tremolo picked on his trusty ESP Frank Bello bass guitar with ease. Approaching the microphone, he expelled a bellowing scream, holding a sustained note as the next section of the song was coming up. He just so happened to be the frontman. 

To the left of the frontman was a girl who looked just like him and had hair just as long as him. She was probably a year or two younger than them. She wore a black Suffocation t-shirt, a pair of woodland camouflage shorts, and a worn pair of black PF Flyers. Turns out, she also incorporated an aggressive playing style just like her brother. She was stomping on a wah pedal as she demonstrated a chaotically melodic solo on her ESP Alexi-600 Scythe. The sounds of neoclassical Malmsteen-esque shredding and sweep picking were being produced as she went up and down the thin, but comfortable neck. 

Behind the three of them was their powerhouse; a shirtless bald man (same age as the rest of the band) wearing beige cargo shorts, a blue bandana covered by a Suicidal Tendencies hat, and torn black Chuck Taylors. He sported arrow tattoos that spanned from head to toe. He was utilizing a Tama Imperialstar kit, similar to the one Dave Lombardo used. His style of drumming was very fluid, fast, and at times, technical. If anything really, he was basically the reincarnation of Dave Lombardo, Igor Cavalera, Neil Peart, Gene Hoglan, Sean Reinert, and Steve Asheim altogether. The constant sound of skank beats and blast beats were driving the audience insane as they were circling around the dance floor in a counterclockwise fashion. 

As the bald man pummeled through the double kick drums, the band continued to headbang until the song came to a sudden end. The audience cheered following the conclusion of the band’s setlist.

The frontman grabbed the mic with his right hand and raised the metal horns on his left hand. “Thank you for coming out tonight! We’re glad that we were given an opportunity to open up for the mighty Kemurikage,” he continued on. “I’m Zuko. On my right is my buddy Sokka and on my left is my sister Azula. Behind me is the powerhouse himself, Aang! Once again, we are Realm of Koh and we are glad to see you guys fuck shit up. Peace out!” Leaving the stage, Zuko gently handed his bass guitar over to his uncle, Iroh. Azula followed suit and the two siblings smiled at their uncle. He was delighted to see his nephew and his niece being happy. 

*

Years before Realm of Koh was even formed, Zuko and Azula didn’t have a great home life. Ursa and Ozai, their mom and dad, divorced when they were young. Although the court granted the two of them joint custody of their two children, their dad lacked the mental responsibility in order to take care of them and resorted to alcohol as a way to cope with his demons. It was when they became teenagers that the two siblings decided to move to their uncle’s place for the sake of maintaining their mental and physical health. Zuko cared for his sister and he wanted to make sure she was happy. They visited their mom on the weekends and spent time with their little half-sister, Kiyi, who was considered to be their “super-fan.” Ursa supported their direction in life, sometimes seeing them at shows as a way to show her support for them. 

Uncle Iroh was a musician himself and he owned two instruments that he had for a long time: a white Fender JP-90 Bass and a Ferrari red 1985 Gibson Explorer equipped with a Kahler bridge, which originally belonged to Ozai. In fact, he and Ozai actually created and played in a rock band together. A glam metal band called The Rough Rhinos. Ozai was the guitarist and frontman of the band, Iroh played bass, and Zhao was their drummer. Despite releasing only one album, they were respected in their scene, having a couple hit singles such as “Flaming Hotwoman,” “Dragon of the West,” and “Ember Island Nights.” The Rough Rhinos were doing well...until Ozai hooked up with Ursa, who at the time was a fan of theirs, after one of their shows. That night led to the creation of Zuko and their relationship at one point led to a brief wedding at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas. It also led to the breakup of the band itself because Ozai was focused on ironically “raising” his family rather than composing new songs with the band. Iroh doesn’t regret it after all, having seen this experience as a form of advice to pass down to Zuko and Azula. 

Azula, being the perfectionist she was, went for the Explorer guitar because it met the needs that could enable her to become the ultimate shredder. Also, it served as some sort of memento for her dad before he went downhill. She looked in the mirror with the guitar slung slightly low and envisioned to be like two of her other idols, Eddie Van Halen and James Hetfield. This bummed Zuko out, but Iroh assured him that just like the guitar, bass guitars can make some cool sounds too. He taught the two a couple of simple songs they could pick up on, from bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience to the Ramones. Iroh also taught them the songs he wrote when he was in The Rough Rhinos, which was a stepping stone for what was to come. 

“Uncle, this is great and all, but is there more to rock than just the classic stuff and your old band’s songs?” Azula complained. “I want to learn something cooler, superior, and better!”

“Like what?” Iroh responded calmly, despite feeling insulted by Azula saying that The Rough Rhinos were deemed inferior in her eyes. 

Azula processed her mind for a few seconds and then proceeded to open her mouth. “You have those metal records there. Zuzu and I would listen to Iron Maiden or Pantera whenever you’re out of the house. I want to be like those guys! Adrian Smith, Dimebag Darrell, etc. You get what I’m saying?”

Zuko interjected their conversation. “I don’t know Azula. I like the pace that we are going at, but I am thinking about learning something that is a good middle ground.” He began to think about what song would be a good starting point for all things metal and he abruptly came to a conclusion. “For Whom the Bell Tolls is my favorite song, so why not that? Plus, I like Metallica.” Indeed, Metallica was definitely one of Zuko’s favorite bands, albeit the first metal band he was introduced to by Iroh in secrecy; but down the line, he also had a love for heavier bands like Sepultura, Demolition Hammer, Possessed, and Slayer. 

Iroh calmly stroked his beard and his eyes lit up. He nodded his head yes and Zuko smiled in response to his gesture. Azula initially gave out an unimpressed look because she wasn't a big Metallica fan. However, she admitted that she did like that particular song and a couple others (such as Blackened, No Remorse, and Creeping Death) because it was also her introduction to the genre of thrash metal. Unlike Zuko however, she eventually began to flirt with the brutal side of metal as opposed to Zuko’s interest in old school death metal, crossover, and death/thrash. She was especially into brutal death metal bands such as Dying Fetus, Misery Index, and Suffocation, whose musical compositions would allow her to become more technical and articulate in the way she wrote music. 

Iroh did have a big record collection to be fair, and the records Zuko and Azula would snoop over would range from Iron Maiden’s Powerslave to the final Pantera record, Reinventing the Steel. He even had an original 1978 pressing of the first Van Halen record, something that Zuko enjoys listening to here and there. He also had a couple of punk rock/hardcore punk records as well, from California bands such as the Adolescents, Dead Kennedys, and Black Flag; to the New York stuff such as the Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front. Zuko and Azula were very fond of this genre as a whole. Although Iroh himself wasn’t a huge thrash metal fan, he did own a few thrash records. His reasons were that they relax the mind and they could serve as a brief form of cathartic therapy for the two children. He was more into the classic rock stuff and traditional heavy metal bands like Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Thin Lizzy. The thrash records that Iroh had in his collection were of course the iconic ones: Ride the Lightning, Seasons in the Abyss, Bonded by Blood, The Ultra-Violence, and Beneath the Remains.

He wasn’t a virtuoso of any kind, but he made damn sure that Zuko and Azula would become proficient in their respective instruments. Iroh took his time to learn how the song went, looking up the tablature for both guitar and bass parts, and proceeded to dissect each part of the song until the two siblings were consistent with it. 

It was on that day, that Zuko and Azula sold their souls to metal...or in this case, began to appreciate the beauty of metal music. They eventually decided to form a band with two of their high school friends, Sokka and Aang. This was now the beginning of the Realm of Koh. 

*

Going back to the present, the band hung out in the green room behind the stage while Kemurikage was playing their set. Sokka projected himself onto the couch and threw his feet onto the coffee table. He opened up a cold bottle of Heineken and took a decent sip out of it. His girlfriend, Suki, gently sat down next to him and took a sip of the beer the moment he passed it to her. “I have to say guys, that show was just as surreal as a cactus juice trip. It’s that crazy!” he exclaimed. “I would never expect to see that many people fuck the whole place up!”

Aang grabbed a fresh towel from one of the guest trays and wiped his forehead with it. Katara walked up to him and handed him a water bottle from the mini fridge. “Yeah Sokka, the show was great, but Azula still one-ups you in terms of guitar solos,” he jabbed at Sokka, causing him to frown immediately as he watched his bald friend chug a bottle of water.

“Sure Aang...sure,” Sokka responded sarcastically. “At least I don’t give you or my sister the oogies if I’m spending time with my girl.” That resulted in Suki lightly smacking him on the back of his head and Katara glaring at him for a brief moment. 

Zuko covered his forehead and eyes in complete cringe whenever he heard the two talk about their love lives, whereas Azula tried to tune it out by scrolling on her phone screen. Zuko looked at his sister’s phone screen and noticed that she was surfing for guitars. 

“What are you eyeing on this time, Azula?” he asked her out of curiosity. She looked at him for a brief moment and focused her gaze back on her phone.

“You know that iconic Dimebag guitar, the Dean From Hell?” she asked him.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“That’s one of my dream guitars, Zuzu. Plus, blue is my favorite color, Dimebag is one of my guitar heroes, and...I like lightning.”

“Oh yeah, obviously. But isn’t that particular model expensive though?”

“The USA custom shop version goes for $4000 on Reverb, but the ones that are made overseas and have those Floyd Rose Special bridges are only $800, which isn’t that bad actually. I’m saving some money up from my old retail job and from some of the merch sales so I can get the latter and maybe invest in getting some new parts to make it more stable.” 

“Aren’t you okay with your current guitar? That’s a good guitar.”

“Yeah, it is. I’m still going to play it, but I’m going to designate it as a backup guitar the moment i get that Dean From Hell. Gotta preserve its mojo.”

“What about that Explorer guitar dad played on? That could be your backup guitar.”

“Zuzu, that guitar has seen better days, but I only use that guitar to compose some new riffs and I don’t like how Kahlers feel. They’re too bouncy for my liking and the pickups, despite being able to provide some chunky riffage, aren’t as high output as a set of EMGs or in this guitar, the Dimebucker. It is literally dad, but in the form of a guitar. I need a second guitar that resonates with my cynical personality. We’ve talked about this already.”

“You didn’t say that when you bought that Alexi Laiho guitar.”

Azula gave him a quick glare when he concluded his sentence, but he then realized his mistake. “Sorry, I just forget sometimes. Love you sis.”

“Love you too, dum-dum. Now go annoy Sokka and Aang,” she coherently mumbled to him as she continued scrolling through her phone.

Zuko decided to grab a chair and plopped himself down right away after dealing with Azula’s grumpiness. Uncle Iroh then entered the green room and gave the group an announcement. “I received a letter from someone who was attending this show. Apparently, he is a representative for a punk rock and heavy metal record label group. The letter is about adding Realm of Koh to the roster and to help them get more recognition from the metal community itself. I know you guys have self-released a demo and all, but these guys mean business.”

“You sure it’s not some major label scam? Because if it is, I’m out,” Sokka replied. 

“No, they’re an independent record label. Think of Metal Blade, Tankcrimes, or Nuclear Blast Records. They only want the heaviest of heavy,” Iroh said to the group. “They call themselves...Red Lotus Records.”


	2. Thrashing is My Business...and Business is Good!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is finally here! Took some brainstorming to bring this into fruition. I forgot to mention that it was James Hetfield's birthday yesterday, so happy belated birthday to the Downpicking God himself. Also, today is Max Cavalera's birthday, the man behind the brutal riffage that made Sepultura kickass. 
> 
> In this chapter, we somewhat go more in depth of Ursa showing support for the band, as promised. We also get to see what the band's first gig was like.

“So uncle, where are these guys located?” Zuko asked Iroh. “If they’re based in Republic City, that’s great!”

Iroh looked at the address on the bottom of the letter and his face changed from seriousness to shock the moment he found it. “They’re...they’re based in…,” Iroh hesitated intentionally for the sake of surprise, but this annoyed Azula immediately. 

“Oh for Christ’s sake,” she grumbled as she snatched the paper from his hands. She then read the address with confidence in her voice. “They’re based in Los Angeles. How far is it from Republic City?” she asked the gang. 

No one bothered to answer, except for Katara, who was looking it up on her Maps app on her phone. She then proceeded to look at Azula the moment she found her answer. 

“Far,” she spoke with a slight hint of gloom in her voice. “We’re near the Bay Area, so it’s going to be a bit of a drive, maybe four to six hours if we’re going nonstop.” 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she complained. “Anyone down to drive there? If not, Aang should drive.”

“Nah, Appa consumes too much gas,” he replied to her snarky comment. Appa was the name of Aang’s trusty Ford E350 van, the go-to vehicle for up-and-coming bands who want to tour across the state and the entire country. 

“Your E350 can haul ass, Aang, what the hell are you talking about? Consuming gas, my ass,” Sokka muttered condescendingly. “I’d rather take that option instead of boarding a flight to SoCal.” 

“Aang, there are bands who drive the same exact van as you, if they can haul ass across the country using those, so can we,” Katara added on. “You just need to be confident about it, just like how you are with drumming in front of crowds of people. Might as well see this as an opportunity to travel the state. It’s like a field trip!”

“Yea, that means Disneyland for Suki and I!” Sokka exclaimed with joy. “That’s one of our goals!”

“Thank you Sokka. Very cool!” Zuko said to him sardonically as he rolled his eyes. 

“You guys make some great points and all, but this van also had some problems recently,” said Aang. “The farthest we’ve driven was in Santa Cruz...and that was to play a show with some bands from that scene, but once Appa gets a full tank of gas, we’ll be good to go!”

“Yea, that’s the spirit, buddy!” Sokka assured him as he chugged down the last of his Heineken. “So when will we start packing for this so-called ‘adventure?’”

“A few days from now,” Suki answered his question. “You guys need to get some rest since most you folks have been thrashing out for the past couple of weeks.”

“Fair enough,” said Zuko. “But let's focus on our main priorities first. Aang getting gas for his van and getting the gear that’s suitable for us to carry.”

Katara interjected, “That would mean-”

“Guitars, basses, whatever. As long as it fits in the van, we’ll be good to go. Oh, and luggage too,” he elaborated. “Anyways guys, let’s go see Kemurikage perform their set. They’ve got some crazy pits happening right now.”

Zuko exited the green room in excitement while the rest of the gang followed suit. They were ready to hit the road in a few days.

*

The following morning, Zuko and Azula drove to their mom’s apartment in downtown Republic City. It was a middle-class residence, but it at least provided a sense of comfort whenever they hung out there. Zuko knocked on the door, only to have his stepfather Noren open it.

“Oh. Good morning, Zuko and Azula,” he greeted them warmly. “I heard your guys’ performance last night was badass.”

“Yeah. A lot of people were going crazy in that show,” the young boy conversed with Noren. “Ummm...is my mom here?”

Noren turned his back around, only to see Ursa and Kiyi having breakfast. The two of them looked at Noren and noticed that Zuko and Azula showed up. “Hon, the kids are here,” he addressed Ursa. Kiyi was the first to get up.

“Zuzu and Zula are here!” Kiyi exclaimed as she ran towards her two older siblings. She gave Zuko and Azula a hug, then ran back to her table to mow down a plate of eggs. Ursa then got up and gave her two children a hug as well. The two siblings then grabbed a seat at the table they were eating at.

“Mom, uncle Iroh gave us a letter after our band’s set was finished. We have to show this to you,” said Zuko as he pulled out the letter from his back jean pocket. He handed the letter to his mother and carefully listened to her reading it. 

“Los Angeles, huh?” Ursa asked her son as she read the address at the bottom of the letter. “That’s pretty far from where we live. When are you guys planning to drive there?”

“A few days from now,” Zuko replied. “The record label wants to add the band to the roster, help us distribute our first album or something.”

“All I can say is...I’m proud of you, Zuko,” said Ursa. “You have come a long way. I’ll always remember that debut show your band did.”

“You’re forgetting someone,” Azula nodded, grabbing Ursa’s attention as she got out of her seat and grabbed a box of Frosted Flakes from the top of the fridge.

“Oh oops. I’m also proud of my other turtleduck as well. The way you play guitar is tremendous,” Ursa replied to her daughter’s complaint. 

“Thanks mom,” said Zuko. “Do you want us to bring back something from L.A.? Does Noren or Kiyi want something?” 

Ursa gazed at her youngest child and her current husband, and then looked back at her kids. “You know...Kiyi has been wanting to learn how to play guitar because of you guys. The problem is, we don’t know what kind of guitar she wants to play,” she explained to the two kids. “Do you know what she wants to play?”

Zuko pulled out his phone and entered the Sweetwater website. “Kiyi, come check this out,” he called to his little sister. She walked up to him and faced a phone screen showing a catalog of electric guitars, ranging from the classic Fenders and Gibsons to the more modern ESPs, Jacksons, and Ibanez guitars. “Is there a particular guitar you’ve been wanting to get for a long time?” he asked her. 

Kiyi looked at the screen for a couple of seconds, scrolling down the catalog with her index finger until it came to a sudden stop. “That one,” she answered. “It’s around my budget, so I thought it could be a good first guitar.”

Zuko turned his phone around and noticed that she picked a particularly iconic instrument: an SG. Well to be more specific, she wanted an Epiphone SG Standard in the classic cherry red colorway. Her reason? Because she watched Jack Black play a 1969 Gibson SG in the movie School of Rock. He then showed the guitar to Ursa.

“Oh that’s a nice guitar,” she complimented. “Price isn’t too bad. I think that would be a great guitar to start off with.” She then looked at Kiyi, who was waiting for her mother’s response. “We’ll get that guitar a week or two before your birthday, deal?” she asked her daughter. Kiyi nodded yes to her agreement in glee and retreated back into her room. Ursa began to reminisce the time Zuko and Azula played their first gig.

*

The first Realm of Koh gig was in Iroh’s garage, with Zuko on his JP-90 bass, Azula on her 1985 Explorer, Aang on an old PDP kit that Iroh had for a while; and Sokka played a black Jackson Stars Soloist guitar his dad, Hakoda, used to own back in the day. The four had just graduated high school and they have been practicing for months on end. Their main audience was Katara, Katara and Sokka’s parents, Suki, Iroh, Ursa, Noren, and Kiyi. The rest were mostly local bands who didn’t play metal music. The band had written their first two original songs, but they mostly stuck with covers during this gig. 

“Um, hello everyone...Zuko here,” Zuko awkwardly presented himself to the crowd. “My band Realm of Koh is going to play a couple covers and two brand new original songs for you guys to hear. The first song we’re going to play is by the mighty fucking Slayer and this song is called...WAR ENSEMBLE!!!!!”

The band kicked off their first song, with Azula playing Kerry King’s guitar section of the intro. Sokka followed suit playing Jeff Hanneman’s guitar parts and Aang pummeled his way through the drum kit. Zuko unleashed his furious-sounding vocals, which was comparable to two vocalists: Tom Araya and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel. 

“PROPAGANDA DEATH ENSEMBLE, BURIAL TO BE,” Zuko shouted as he was also reciting the lyrics to the song, “CORPSES ROTTING THROUGH THE NIGHT, IN BLOOD LACED MISERY!” 

The rest of the audience was shocked to see their loved ones unleash such catharsis, except for Kiyi and Iroh, who were both rocking out to their covers. The three long-haired band members were wildly thrashing back and forth. After Zuko recited the first chorus section of the song, Sokka did his best to improvise on Jeff Hanneman’s solo. Following the second chorus section was the bridge section of the song and then came Azula’s take on Kerry King’s solo. After War Ensemble came to an end, the audience cheered for a bit, giving the band a sense of hope and some good reception. Ursa was grateful for this opportunity to happen.

“Heh...I’m glad you guys liked that cover,” said Zuko as he grabbed his microphone. “As I mentioned before, we are Realm of Koh and we are ready to fuck shit up. This next song is another cover and it’s by a band called Sepultura...this song is called PROPAGANDA!!!!!”

Azula laid down some dissonant chords in the intro similar to how Andreas Kisser played it and the rest of the band followed suit, emulating the spirit of the original Sepultura lineup. The sounds of chuggy riffage and buzzsaw distortion were amplified through Sokka’s Mesa Dual Rectifier and Azula’s Peavey 5150. A distinct Anthrax-like clank was directly coming from Zuko’s Ampeg Bass Amplifier. 

“You taught them well did you, Iroh?” Ursa asked her former brother-in-law. Iroh gave off a slight chuckle in response to her question. 

“They needed an outlet and I’m glad they chose to do this,” he said to her as he observed his nephew and niece having the time of their life with their two friends. “If anything really, you also encouraged them to follow their dream, not just me.” Ursa was flattered by this statement, acknowledging the fact that her two children were at least doing something productive.

“I just never expected them to play this kind of music though,” she commented as Iroh listened to her. “It just sounds so...aggressive. Not like the stuff The Rough Rhinos did.” 

“I can understand that,” Iroh added on. “The first time I heard this kind of music, it was when Metallica released Kill ‘Em All. I literally asked myself ‘what the hell is this?’ when I listened to the opening track. It’s a very interesting genre of music, that’s for sure.” 

“Yeah...well, if it makes them happy, I’ll support them nevertheless,” she said to Iroh. “They call me ‘mom’ for a reason.”

*

A few days have passed by and the gang met up at Iroh’s pad to pick up Zuko and Azula. “Today’s the day, guys,” said Sokka. “We are now going on a life-changing field trip!” He then chucked his backpack full of clothes and snacks into the backseat of the van. The rest of the band packed all of their belongings into the rear end of the van and closed the back of it securely. Zuko stepped out of the house carrying his gig bag and his backpack full of clothes.

“You can put this one behind the passenger seat,” he said to Aang as he handed him his gig bag. He then turned around to give his uncle and his mom’s family a farewell hug. After doing so, he entered the back seat of the van, sitting next to Sokka, who was setting up a playlist for the road trip that was bound to happen.

“Alright guys, are we ready?” Aang asked the rest of the crew, half of them saying yes and half of them nodding yes. “Okay then, I need a playlist to keep us company, any volunteers?”

Sokka was the first to respond. “I gotchu Aang-man,” he said to his bald friend as he grabbed the AUX cord and plugged it into his phone, cranking it up to full volume. “I got the good stuff in this playlist...check this out.” He then pressed the play button, the speakers blasting Revolution by Lazarus A.D. with intensity until Aang quickly lowered the volume to a point where everyone could listen to it without making their ears bleed. 

“A bit of a reckless start, but we can stick with this for a bit. After that, I’m going to play the music that I have on my phone,” he said to Sokka. The van then exited Iroh’s driveway and eventually the neighborhood as the gang began their journey to Los Angeles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending felt a bit brief, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. Stay tuned for Chapter 3, since it'll come here as soon as possible. Anyways guys, stay safe!


	3. Stronger Than Hate/The Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh visits an old bandmate of his for the first time in a decade or so. The band continues their journey to Los Angeles, making a few pit stops in order to rebuild their energy. Along the way, they encounter a group of metalheads with a unique style of instrumentation. Will we know if they are friends or foes? Let's find out. 
> 
> HINT: the second title of the chapter is the name of a song from the album, Black Sails at Midnight. Find out what band created this album as you continue reading the story! The first giveaway here is that Stronger than Hate is a Sepultura song. Two songs in one title.

Iroh opened his garage door and unveiled a vehicle that was in remarkable condition, a 1988 Camaro IROC-Z that was painted in a sleek black colorway. Normally, he drove a Toyota Corolla for the sake of coming back and forth from working in the Jasmine Dragon, but he decided to take this one out for a spin. He inserted the keys into the ignition port and cranked it forward, waking up the 30-something year old engine from its slumber. Exiting the garage and driving out of the suburbs, he drove his way to downtown Republic City and eventually the parking lot of a rehab center. Parking his car and locking the doors, he then walked up to the modern-looking building and the giant sign in front of it: REPUBLIC CITY CENTER FOR HEALTH. He then entered the lobby of the rehab center and approached the receptionist.

“Can I help you?” the young lady asked him as she was working on some files.

“I’m here to visit a brother of mine. His name is Ozai,” Iroh answered her question. “Just wanted to check up on him, that’s all.”

The receptionist looked at her computer for a couple of seconds and then looked back at Iroh. “It’s your lucky day, he’s in room 215, if you know where that is,” she said to him as she wrapped a visitor wristband around Iroh’s left wrist. 

“Thank you,” he said to her as he walked towards the elevator.

After exiting the elevator and entering the second floor, Iroh walked down a hallway and entered another. Looking at the room numbers, he ended up in the 210s. “215...215...almost there,” he mumbled to himself as he was nearing Ozai’s room. As he approached the door to Ozai’s room, he politely knocked on the door, only to get a gruff sounding voice coming from the other side.

“Come in,” Ozai responded. Iroh opened the door and saw Ozai sitting down at his desk, writing in a journal. The younger brother looked at his older brother and got up from his desk. He then embraced him in a brief hug and Iroh noticed that Ozai was getting better in terms of mental and physical health.

*

“So how’s Zuko and Azula?” he asked Iroh as he was given a cup of tea from him. “I heard they’re in a band or something.”

“Oh yeah, the two of them formed a band together with their high school friends. They also released a demo tape a while back. The music is very aggressive, but it made them very happy, that’s for sure,” Iroh explained to his brother. “They just got a letter from a record label who wants to add them to the roster.”

“That’s great! Man...I really wished I had the opportunity to see them play.”

Iroh pulled out his phone and showed Ozai a video of the band playing at the Ba Sing Se nightclub. “Zuko is a prominent bass player and he’s also the frontman of the band. Azula is a very talented guitar player...I basically taught the two of them the power of rock ‘n’ roll.” Ozai continued looking at the video and noticed the amount of chaos happening in front of the band.

“Looks like a wild crowd,” he observed. “People moshing...crowd surfing...headbanging. I bet the music was really loud in person. Probably louder than us back in the day. We didn’t really play anything that would make people move that aggressively”

“Of course brother, they’re a thrash metal band. The marriage of British heavy metal and hardcore punk rock. I don’t think our style of music would bode well with them,” said Iroh. “I have to show you their first gig, too.” The old rocker pulled up a video of Zuko and Azula’s first gig with Realm of Koh. Although he recorded their entire set into separate videos, his favorite part of the show was when they covered two iconic Sodom songs, Ausgebombt and Napalm in the Morning. Ozai was quite impressed and was also proud to see that his two kids have come a long way. What made him more intrigued was that his own daughter was playing the red Explorer guitar he used to own.

“Is Azula playing my Explorer guitar?” he asked Iroh for verification. “That looks exactly like the one I used to play.”

“Yup, that is your guitar. I actually kept it for safekeeping if in the case you or the kids were wanting to play it,” Iroh replied to him. “Azula still uses it, but she actually has another guitar in her arsenal and now the Explorer is her songwriting guitar. She told me it’s her reminder of you apparently.”

“I’m glad she’s giving the guitar some love and I’m not surprised about that.”

“Yea,” Iroh chuckled. “Remember when we’d go to the record store to buy some of those cool albums on vinyl? Apparently, you were a huge Mötley Crüe and KISS fan...blasting those records and bugging me to cover them with you.”

“Those were simpler times, man,” said Ozai as he recalled those memories. “I think those bands were the reason why we formed The Rough Rhinos. You still have those records, no?”

“I kept them in my collection. Zuko and Azula would sometimes snoop through them because they’re a curious bunch. Well I have to be honest with you Ozai, they weren’t huge KISS fans, but they did like Van Halen though.”

“I guess they preferred musicianship over imagery,” Ozai said in slight grief, but then asked Iroh a question. “So where are the kids now?”

“They’re going to Los Angeles to meet up with the record label. They might play a show or two there if they have the chance.”

“Oh for sure...how’s Ursa?” he asked again.

“She’s doing fine actually. Apparently, Zuko and Azula said farewell to her and I yesterday before their band started their journey,” Iroh replied to him. “She’s the band’s number #1 fan according to them.” He then looked at the clock and noticed that he had to head back home and get ready to start his shift at the Jasmine Dragon. “Oh umm...I got work in a half-hour, but it’s been great talking to you little bro,” he said.

“Yea, thanks for visiting,” said Ozai as he welcomed a farewell embrace to his brother before he left the room. “Let me know when their next show is when they come back here, I want to see my kids rock out.”

“I got you man,” said Iroh as he exited the room and closed the door. He then whispered to himself so he wouldn’t forget. “I got you.”

*

Zuko looked out the window of Aang’s van, drawing himself to the awe of the seascape and the sunset horizon. He always felt a sense of calmness whenever he was near the ocean and it reminded him of the time when the band got together for a beach party. 

One where folks would do an acoustic jam session around a beach campfire of some sorts. He began to remember the time when Azula and Sokka would play an acoustic rendition of the clean harmony section of To Live is to Die by Metallica. Sometimes Azula would mess around and play Classical Gas by Mason Williams just to fuck with Sokka. In response to that, he would play The Last of Us theme song just to get it over with. 

“So where are we exactly,” Suki asked Sokka as he was looking through his Maps app. She was resting her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder as she looked at his phone. Sokka then observed the blue dot, which clearly showed where they were as they were traveling southward.  
“According to the map,” said Sokka. “We’re in Carmel...as in Carmel-by-the-Sea. 25 more miles, we could get to Big Sur”

“It’s almost nighttime, so I think it’s best if we just stop by at a motel or something,” Katara suggested. “Any ideas, Aang?”

“I’m all for it, plus we should give Appa a little break for the meantime,” said Aang as he entered an exit ramp entering the town of Carmel. Driving down Ocean Avenue, he then entered the parking lot of a Comfort Inn and booked a room so that the gang could crank in some hours of sleep. 

The following morning, they booked out their reservation and drove down State Route 1 for the remainder of time. Azula looked out the window and observed the mountainside on her left and the ocean on her right. She briefly listened to a Jasta Show podcast coming from Aang’s phone, which was plugged into his AUX cable. The sound of Jamey Jasta’s voice was very conversational, as expected from a podcast. Almost three hours have passed by and the gang made another pit stop. This time, they arrived at the town of Santa Maria, the BBQ Capital of California. Finding a spot to chill out at, the gang decided to park their van in the open air parking lot of a shopping mall. 

As Sokka hopped out of the van, his nostrils widened, indicating something that smelled very good or very suspicious. It was the former. “It smells like a barbecue,” he said. “I smell...meat???” He looked over to see a tri-tip BBQ truck pass by and his mouth watered instantaneously. 

“Well we are in the BBQ capital, Sokka,” said Azula as she also took in the delicious smell of barbecue. Her stomach grumbled loudly after that. “I sure am hungry.” 

Before the gang began to make another step, that same bus that was converted to resemble a pirate ship came to a sudden stop. Tires screeched loudly and the door opened up. Out came a group of men dressed in pirate garb. They carried electric guitars, basses, and individual drum parts/hardware. “Oh, sorry about that lads,” said one of the men who walked up to the gang. He noticed that the gang dressed up like the typical thrash metal band, minus Suki and Katara; who wore mostly flannels, band shirts, Chuck Taylors, and jeans.

“Are you guys in a band too?” the man asked them. 

“Umm...yea,” Zuko answered the man’s question. “A thrash metal band.”

“Ahh okay, I’m Oh by the way,” the man greeted himself to Zuko. “The boys that got out of this former school bus here and I are in a pirate metal band.” 

“Pirate metal?” Azula asked Oh in confusion. “That’s a thing?”

“Oh yea, no pun intended. Ever heard of Alestorm?” he asked the group. The rest of the gang shook their heads no. “Oh ho ho ho, I might as well put a show on for you guys then.” He inserted the tips of his fingers into his mouth and began to whistle, the sound grabbing the attention of Oh’s bandmates as he gestured them to play their instruments. “And a one, and a two, and a-” The musicians began to play their rendition of an Alestorm song for the first twenty seconds until Zuko made them abruptly stop. 

“OKAY! OKAY!” he shouted. “First off, why are you guys here in Santa Maria? Second off, I think we can understand what the genre is now thanks to you.”

“My pleasure! To answer your first question, are you here for the barbecue as well? Because if it is, then yes,” Oh said to him.

“I mean...yea,” Sokka interjected, placing a hand on his abdomen to show a sign of hunger. 

“Well, we were just planning to go to that BBQ truck to treat ourselves for some good ole Santa Maria tri-tip, you can come along if you want,” he said to the gang as he put his keytar away and walked towards the truck. 

The gang looked at each other for a couple of seconds before they came to a conclusion. “Sokka and Azula are hungry, so we might as well grab some protein before we hit the road,” Suki said to the gang. “Plus, y’all know Sokka as the ‘meat-and-sarcasm guy.’ Remove the meat, he’s just ‘sarcasm guy.’” 

“Fair point,” said Aang. “But I’ll opt out on this one, obviously. If we see a Veggie Grill along the way, I’ll get something from there.”

“All good Aang-man,” said Sokka as he slung his arm over his bald friend’s shoulder. “Anyways, TO THE BARBEQUE TRUCK!”

*

The two bands hung out in the parking lot discussing their upcoming plans and such. Oh and Zuko were sharing their mutual interest in music and touring. “So...a thrash metal band, eh?” he asked Zuko. “Are you guys basically like the Big 4 or something?”

“Not exactly, but most folks say that we sound like a mix of Slayer, Sepultura, and maybe Testament,” he replied to Oh as he proceeded to munch on a strip of tri-tip. 

“For sure man. So what’s so special about going to Los Angeles? Moving there? Big show of some sorts?”

“Record label,” Zuko answered. “They sent us a letter telling us that they want to add the band to the roster.”

“Oh that’s awesome,” Oh added on. “You’ve guys been around for how long?”

“Three, maybe four years.” 

“Interesting...interesting. Do you mind if I give you some advice when it comes to signing into a record label and becoming more successful?” Oh asked Zuko nonchalantly. 

“Hit me.”

Oh looked around before staring back at Zuko. “Even if you guys get more familiar within the metal community, stick to your roots...and have some fun, even if your music is serious. Touring can be a bit of a downer sometimes, but just remember that music is something that can be enjoyed, it’s pretty much your whole life. This pirate metal band my bandmates and I are in, we’re like a big family.”

Zuko slightly chuckled before speaking to Oh. “Sound advice, I’ll take advantage of that. Realm of Koh is pretty much my second family. Thanks.”

“Anytime man, anytime...hopefully your band and my band can book a show together sometime in the future.”

“Yeah man...hopefully,” said Zuko as he looked at his bandmates having the time of their lives. Sokka and Suki sharing a plate, Katara conversing with Azula, and Aang talking to Oh’s drummer. He smiled slightly as he thought of the idea that his band was his second family. The thought that thrash metal was also about having a good time. It felt like he was finally at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys find out what band it was? If you knew it was Alestorm, you're correct! As always guys, keep on the lookout for Chapter 4. It will be added as soon as possible. Stay safe guys!


	4. Mouth for War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking a trip to Santa Maria, Azula experiences a vivid dream where she plays in a band with her favorite musicians at the iconic Whisky a Go Go. While our beloved gang takes residence in a Hollywood hotel, she eventually finds a flyer of a band that is playing at that same venue. She also summons a familiar guitar hero of hers? Do we know who it is? Let's find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is finally here guys. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. Stay safe!

After departing from Santa Maria, the gang made a brief stop at a gas station so they could refuel Appa and grab some energy-inducing snacks at the same time. A half hour had passed by and the view of the ocean was visible once again. Azula didn’t bother to look at the beachhead as she began to doze off. Closing her eyes, she submerged herself into a comfortable slumber. She then opened her eyes and looked around. The place she was in was dimly lit, but the blacklight contrasted its darkness. Behind her was a drum kit that somewhat resembles Vinnie Paul’s. Maybe Aang had a new setup or something.

“What the hell?” Azula asked herself in confusion. Looking down, she had a familiar looking guitar on her. It was blue and had a particular shape, resembling both an Explorer and a Flying V. It was equipped with a chrome Floyd Rose bridge and sported a lightning bolt graphic as well. She looked at the V-shaped headstock and spotted the logo. 

“Dean,” she observed. “This has to be the Dean From Hell. The iconic Dimebag guitar.” A silhouette accompanied with heavy footsteps came up to her and began to speak.

“Hey Azula, are you ready?” 

Azula noticed that it sounded like a question Zuko would ask her before a show, but as she looked up, she noticed that it wasn’t Zuko at all...rather, it was a tall man with a shaved head and full sleeve tattoos. 

“Phil Anselmo? What are you doing here?” she asked the former Pantera frontman. “Where am I?” As Phil began to speak, his voice had that deep, bellowing, and slow tone.

“You’re at the Whisky a Go Go. Tonight is Pantera’s reunion and you’re the guitarist for this show. I know you couldn’t replace Dime, but your style is just as aggressive as his,” he said to the young musician. “I’m no spiritual person, but I think you’re partially his spiritual successor. Filling in some big shoes, but I’ve seen your Realm of Koh shows…just like Dime, you know how to make your guitar talk.” 

“You have?” she asked. 

“Yeah, heavy shit...sounds like you guys have balls,” he said to her. “Anyways, while I’m singing on this set, I’m also here to send you this message. Apparently, it’s from the metal god Lemmy himself.” 

Phil pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. “It says and I quote, ‘if you ever want to summon Dimebag, you have to say Getcha’ Pull.’ That’s the message. Oh and umm...Lemmy signed it.” 

“Sounds kinda silly. What if he doesn’t come?” Azula asked him. 

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Phil said to her. “Anyways, my time to educate you is up, we got people coming to see us play.” Azula looked forward and noticed that people were emerging into the dance floor. Giant crowds of metalheads, just like the Ba Sing Se show. She looked to her right and noticed two other people showed up on stage. 

“No fuckin’ way,” she said to herself. “Rex Brown...and Vinnie Paul?” As the band settled down and got ready to perform, she quietly chuckled to herself. This had to be a really vivid dream. When Phil grabbed the microphone, he began to speak.

“Los Angeles! We are back! I know Dime isn’t here to play with us, but he’s here with us...in spirit,” he announced. “We’re going to kick this show off with the first track off of Vulgar Display of Power. This song is called...Mouth. For. War.” 

As Vinnie Paul counted off on his hi-hat, Azula cranked up the volume and played the intro riff to the song. Just like her Peavey 5150, the Randall Amp projected a similar chunky metal tone, except that the mids were scooped to zero. She began to headbang as the main riff came up. 

“REVENGE!” Phil sang into the mic. “I’M SCREAMING REVENGE AGAIN! WRONG!!! I’VE BEEN WRONG FOR FAR TOO LONG!”

Azula felt like she was having the time of her life, but at the same time she did not know why she was here. When the solo section of Mouth for War came up, she executed her rendition of Dime’s solo, note-for-note. “Holy fucking shit,” her mind spoke. “I’m doing it...I’m playing his guitar...and his solo!” 

As Mouth for War came to an end, Phil came up to her and planted a hand on your shoulder. “It’s time for you to wake up, young rocker,” he said to her. Azula’s vision turned to a bright white light, Phil’s face disappearing out of her existence. Azula opened her eyes up and laid the back of her hand on her forehead. She felt a copious amount of sweat coming out of her forehead and then felt a breeze of air coming from the AC unit of Aang’s van. Looking to her left, she saw her backpack sitting firmly on the seat as if it was untouched. To her right was Zuko, who was looking out the window as always. Aang and Katara were sitting in the front seat, discussing where to park. Behind Azula was Sokka and Suki, who were cuddling each other for the past few hours. 

“Hey, where are we?” Azula asked Katara out of curiosity. Katara looked at her phone for a couple of seconds, finding an answer to Azula’s question. 

“We’re in Santa Monica,” she answered, but Azula did not react. “It’s a part of Los Angeles. You were out for a while and you kinda snored loudly during those past few hours.” Azula began to blush in embarrassment, making Katara chuckle in response to her reaction. 

“I just had this crazy dream, Kat,” said Azula.

“What was it about?” Katara asked her.

“I was playing a show with the original members of Pantera at the Whisky a Go Go.”

“Sounds like a crazy dream to me.”

“Yeah and...I was playing the Dean from Hell.”

“The Dean from what now?”

“The Dimebag guitar.”

“Oh that one. I’m not a Pantera fan, but Sokka told me you’ve wanted that specific guitar and he says it’s really cool.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s one of my dream guitars.”

“Cool cool...anyways, we’re going to the Pier to grab lunch. You need some protein,” said Katara as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her car door. Zuko opened the back door and exited the van, stretching his body before he walked around the van. Suki, Sokka, and Aang followed suit. 

“So guys,” Zuko began to speak. “What place is good around here?”

“Well, there’s Bubba Gump, Pier Burger, Maria Sol, the Albright...” Aang listed out the restaurants from his Google search. “Anyone have any ideas on where we should go?”

“Dibs on Pier Burger! Suki-boo, let’s go.” Sokka exclaimed as he grabbed Suki’s hand, the two of them heading towards the stairs that led to the boardwalk. 

“The man really loves his meat,” said Aang. “But I heard that place cooks Veggie Burgers, so I guess we can go there.”

*

Sokka and Suki were the first two people to reserve a table for the gang. The auburn-haired girl amusingly stared at her boyfriend wolfing down two cheeseburgers in one sitting while she was halfway done with her burger. “First, the tri-tip, and now two burgers?” she questioned him. “Remember that one time you were at my place and you snacked on a full pot brownie?” Sokka looked up at her and tried to recall that specific memory after ingesting a chunk of hamburger meat. 

“Oh yea, and I was so hungry after that,” he laughed. “I swear Sukes, I’m not high right now.”

“Never said you were, but dude...you literally ordered a box of pizza and you ate the whole thing. Your current situation literally reminded me of that.”

“I have no regrets about that...although I might’ve cracked the toilet bowl.”

“Aww fuck no, man, you did not just-”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Although, I did deposit a huge one.” Suki chuckled in response to his joke and lightly grazed Sokka’s head with her palm as he slightly laughed at how horrendous the delivery was. Aang and Katara arrived at the table, while Zuko and Azula trailed right behind them. 

“Oh thank God you guys found a table,” Katara exclaimed in relief and then asked Suki. “He had a big order, did he?” She nodded her head yes and Katara rolled her eyes in disbelief. “He’s always this hungry, no?”

“Well...he did eat a whole pizza at my place one time, but that was when he consumed a full pot brownie. We were just talking about it a few minutes ago actually,” Suki explained to her. 

“Was I there for that?” Zuko interjected, but before Suki could answer, Sokka stepped in.

“I think you were practicing with Aang and Azula at that time, but I do remember you guys carpooling me the following morning.”

“Oh yea, I remember that,” said Aang as he put down his Veggie Burger. “Who baked the brownies though?”

“Probably Sukes,” said Sokka. “Babe, how did you get the weed into the brownies? Matter of fact, where did you get the weed?” Suki’s face began to turn red as she heard him ask that question.

“Oh umm...I actually bought the bag from a dispensary in Downtown Republic City,” she admitted. “Bought it solely to make the brownies.”

“Figures,” said Azula as she picked up a French fry and gobbled it down.

“So sis, I heard you dreamed about being at a Pantera reunion show,” said Zuko. “What’s that all about?” He clearly overheard her and Katara’s conversation in the car, but never bothered to get himself involved in the conversation. The rest of the gang looked at her out of curiosity.

“To be more clear here, I dreamed that I was playing at a Pantera show,” she said to the group. “Phil Anselmo was there, Rex Brown was there, and Vinnie Paul was there.”

“But Dime wasn’t?” Suki asked her. 

“He wasn’t, sadly. But I played his guitar, not the one he had...but a replica Dean From Hell,” said Azula. “Phil told me my playing style partially reminded him of Dime, but I don’t think I am that good.”

“I think you’re pretty good at the guitar,” Aang assured her. “Of course Dimebag is a legend and his solos are hard to replicate, but you’re pretty good yourself.”

“Thanks baldy,” she chuckled. “I’ve been wanting a guitar just like his...so I guess that dream makes sense to me. I don’t know.”

“I can see you playing that guitar,” said Sokka. “Fits your whole persona.”

“Yeah, it kinda does actually,” Katara comforted her. “But did Phil say anything else?”

Azula paused for a bit and then answered Katara’s question. “He kinda gave me instructions on summoning Dimebag.”

*

Walking around the Pier and a part of Third Street Promenade for an extensive period of time tired the group out. Heading back to their van, they decided to go deeper into the heart of Los Angeles. When the evening arrived, the gang eventually ended up at a hotel that was very modern-looking and casual. They entered a room that resembled more like an apartment, much like Ursa’s apartment back in Republic City.

“It’s so spacious,” Suki awed at the space. “You guys could do some unplugged jam sessions here.”

“True, but I don’t have drums,” said Aang as he looked around. “I could use these pillows though.”

“Jam tomorrow guys, I just wanna sleep,” Sokka complained as he belly flopped onto the huge bed. 

“At least take a fuckin’ shower, bro,” Aang grumbled as he dragged him off the bed. “We were literally out in the sun for almost seven or so hours.”

“Okay man...really wished we could learn how to bend elements or something,” Sokka mumbled as he entered the bathroom. “I could bend this sweat out of my body if I had to.” Suki then followed him into the bathroom. 

“How cliché,” said Azula as she plugged her phone charger into the outlet. As she was scrolling through her Instagram feed, she eventually stopped when she spotted a poster about some band playing at the Whisky a Go Go. Using her two fingers to zoom in on the lineup, she noticed that the band was playing tomorrow night, age was 21 and up, and admission was $30. Azula then nudged Zuko with her elbow and showed him the flyer on her phone.

“Metal band?” Zuko asked her.

“Yeah. Name screams traditional metal and Lemmy-worship, but we should go see these guys,” she explained to him. “You down to go?”

“Yeah yeah,” he said. “Ask the others.”

“For sure, but I’ll wait right now because Sokka’s too busy fucking Suki.”

“Oh yea, I forgot about that,” Zuko laughed. 

After Suki and Sokka finished their “steamy” session, Azula gathered the rest of the group for an important announcement. “There’s a show coming up tomorrow evening at the Whisky. We aren’t too far from the show, but this is a metal band we should check out. They might reserve us a spot for a future lineup,” she said to the gang. 

“Do you know what they play?” Sokka asked. 

“Judging by their name,” Azula read the flyer on her phone. “I think they’re like Motörhead or something. But they are a heavy metal act.”

“Thrash metal?” Aang asked her.

“No, just heavy metal.”

“Just heavy metal?” Katara asked her. 

“Yea. Just heavy metal. That’s all for tonight’s announcements.”

*

It was around three or four in the morning. The vibrant sounds of the city were still there. Azula was the first to wake up from her slumber and she went to the bathroom to freshen up. After she brushed her teeth and took a quick shower, she grabbed a pair of blue jeans, a Nevermore t-shirt, and her pair of high top Reebok Freestyles. 

Recalling her dream where Phil told her to summon Dimebag by saying “Getcha’ pull,” she went outside the hallway and laid her back against the wall, next to the room’s doorway. Azula then took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and quietly said, “Getcha’ pull.” As she opened her eyes, she looked around and nothing was found. Even though she had always identified as a skeptic her whole life, she decided to try and summon her guitar hero once again, hoping to see if Phil was right after all. 

After whispering “Getcha’ pull” for the second time, she opened her eyes once again and became disappointed when it didn’t work. Before her hand reached onto the door handle of the room, the sound of heavy footsteps were increasing in volume. “I heard you say that phrase, do you need any help?” a man with a thick Southern accent asked her. He had lusciously long brown curls of hair, pale skin, and a red beard. The man also wore a razor blade necklace, a pair of camouflage shorts, a black tank top, and a worn pair of black Chuck Taylors. Azula stared at him in complete shock, wondering if this was a dream or not.

“Miss, are you okay?” the man asked the young thrasher once again.

“Are you?...” Azula trailed off, causing the man to be confused. “Are you-”

“Ma’am, don’t be afraid to ask.”

Azula took a deep breath, regaining her composure and asked the man the question she’s been wanting to ask. “Are you Dimebag Darrell?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, a cliffhanger! The Cowboy from Hell! Anyways guys, just like before, the next chapter will be here as soon as possible!


	5. 5 Minutes Alone/The Toxic Waltz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula interacts with the late great Dimebag Darrell, who gifts her an instrument that she has been wanting for a long time. The gang also goes to the Whisky a Go Go and discovers the band that is playing at that show. Are they better than Realm of Koh or are they not up to their standards? Let's find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 is finally here guys, enjoy!

“Yes ma’am, I am Dimebag Darrell,” the Pantera guitarist announced himself to Azula. Azula rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn’t hallucinating or something. As she removed her hands from her eyes, she noticed that he was still here. 

“This can’t be real,” she said. “No way is this real.”

“Oh, it’s real alright,” Dimebag laughed at her confusion. He took off his razorblade necklace and handed it to her. “Hold my necklace, miss.” Azula reached her hand out and Dimebag gently placed the ball-chain necklace onto her palm. The cold surface of the metal necklace gave Azula chills. 

“No fucking way…” Azula’s words trailed off but came back immediately. “Okay, I have a question for you then.”

“Go ahead, ask me brotha.”

“What was your first guitar?” she asked him. 

“Easy, a Les Paul copy made by Hohner. Got that on my twelfth birthday,” he answered. “I was a huge Ace Frehley fan and I also used this guitar for my junior high talent show back in 1980.”

“Alright, alright. Is it true that you jammed out with James Hetfield of Metallica back in 1985?”

“Yea, only for 45 minutes,” said Dimebag. “We did play a show with Metallica in 1991, when we were all in Moscow. Them, us, and AC/DC.”

“Oh damn...that’s cool,” said Azula. 

“Yeah, it was. What was your first guitar?” he asked Azula. 

“A 1985 Gibson Explorer that once belonged to my dad’s,” she answered. “It had a Kahler bridge and all.”

“Nice, nice. That’s a good guitar. Going back to the main topic, I heard you needed some help.”

“Not necessarily help, but I kinda want your advice on becoming a better guitar player.”

“Stop right there,” he said. “You said you want my advice on how to be a better guitar player?”

“Yeah.”

“All I can say is play with your heart and practice songs from your records, have you done that before?”

“Yeah...most of the time.”

“Interesting...wait, I think I know why you actually summoned me,” said Dimebag. “You want a guitar.”

Azula was shocked when he read her mind. “How did you know?” she asked him. “No one else knew, except my bandmates.”

“I just read minds...that’s all,” he answered. “Plus, you’re kinda terrible at lying sometimes.”

Azula sighed and pulled out her phone, showing Dimebag the Dean From Hell replica she wanted. “I wanted this specific guitar because you’re my guitar idol and your riffs inspired me to make my own riffs.”

“Ha...that’s very cool, I’m glad to hear that.” He pulled out a bottle of Seagram’s 7, a bottle of Crown Royal, and a can of Coke. “Care for some Black Tooth Grin?” he asked. Although she wasn’t a drinker, Azula didn’t want to decline the offer from one of her guitar heroes, so she nodded her head yes. Dimebag then mixed the contents altogether to create his special drink and then poured it into a small shot glass. Handing the shot glass to the young thrasher, she nervously looked at how menacing it was. 

“It ain’t that bad, but make sure you drink it all. It ain’t no candy,” he advised her as he poured down a shot of Black Tooth Grin. Azula followed suit, but the sensation was bitter and strong, stronger than dark coffee. Her face cringed at the bitterness of the alcohol, despite having Coca-Cola as one of the ingredients. Dimebag laughed at her reaction, telling her that she took it like a champ. 

“What the fuck...is this some sort of rite of passage or something?” she questioned him.

“For this scenario, pretty much. Normally, I drink this to have a good time,” said Dimebag. “Now, you said you wanted the Dean From Hell, right?” 

“Yep...even though I saved up a ton of cash from my old job and from band merch sales.”

“No worries, because I actually brought a guitar with me...that you can own for the rest of your life.” Azula’s eyes lit up as he mentioned those last four words. He brought out a guitar case that had the Dean logo printed on it. 

“Wait...you didn’t have that guitar when I summoned you,” said Azula. 

“Let’s just say that I have some mysterious powers,” he assured her. Dimebag released the latches from the case, producing a somewhat loud snap whenever he lifted the tabs up. He then opened up the case, the guitar glowing excessively in front of Azula’s eyes.

“No way,” she exclaimed in awe. “This is the Dean From Hell?”

“Not my original one, but it’s a USA Custom Shop model. What makes this one special is that it has a Bill Lawrence L500XL bridge pickup. This one is yours to keep.” 

Azula held back tears, knowing that getting a guitar like this was nearly impossible for her. She hugged her guitar hero and picked up the guitar from its case. “It’s kinda heavy,” she said.

“But it’s a fun guitar to play, brotha,” said Dimebag. “Anyways, it looks like my job is done here. I’ll see you soon, Azula.” Azula then saw him turn around and walk away from where she was standing. She closed her eyes to make sure he was still there, but as she opened her eyes, he was already gone. Looking down, she still had the guitar in her hands and the case was still lying down on the floor. Azula then noticed that there was a handwritten letter on the interior of the guitar case. Picking it up, she began to read it.

“Dear Azula, please enjoy this USA Custom Shop version of my beloved Dean From Hell. I could give you my original guitar, but that’s all the way in Arlington. You get to keep this guitar by the way. I know you’re a huge Pantera fan of some sorts and you’ve been eyeing on this specific guitar for a while now. I hope your band goes places, the metal gods are pleased with the music of Realm of Koh. As always, keep rockin’ and don’t be afraid to drink some Black Tooth Grin,” she read the letter and then looked at the bottom of the paper. “Getcha’ Pull, Dimebag Darrell.” Attached to the letter was a photo of Dime smoking a joint.

Putting the guitar back into the case and closing the latches, she then lifted the case up with her left hand and slowly opened the door to her hotel room. Closing it very quietly, she noticed that the rest of her friends were still sleeping peacefully. 

*

Zuko opened his eyes as the sunlight was projected through the hotel room’s window. As he got up, he noticed that there was a guitar case resting on the wall. “Did Azula just buy her new guitar?” he asked himself. He then heard the acoustic plucking of strings and turned around to see Azula playing the solo to Floods by Pantera. “Azula?” he asked his sister. “You actually got your dream guitar?”

“Someone gave it to me,” she said to Zuko.

“Who did?” he asked.

Azula hesitated for a bit because she didn’t want her brother to think she was crazy, but she had to tell him the truth. “Dimebag Darrell.”

“No way...he’s been dead for a long time now,” said Zuko.

“I have the letter to show you,” she said to him as she headed for the guitar case. Opening it up and grabbing the letter from the accessory compartment, she handed it to her brother and allowed him to read it. 

“So...how did you manage to summon him?” he asked.

“I might have said his signature phrase,” Azula replied.

“Getcha’ Pull? Like what he wrote on this letter?”

“Yea...although it might not work right now.”

“Well I’ll be damned. Still impressive that you summoned a guitar legend with his signature phrase.”

“Kinda like that one TV show on Nickelodeon where people communicate with spirits and bend elements?”

“Yeah...kinda, but what you witnessed was a whole different level of crazy.”  
“He also shared a drink with me,” said Azula.

“Seriously?” Zuko questioned her.

“Black Tooth Grin, man...stuff was horrible, you should try it.”

“Nah, it sounded like you had a rough time ingesting that stuff, buddy.”

“It wasn’t rough, buddy.”

“I doubt it Azula, I doubt it.”

Sokka woke up to the sounds of Azula and Zuko conversing and noticed that Azula was holding the Dean From Hell. His energy spiked and his eyes grew wide open. Hopping off the bed, he ran up to the two siblings and looked at her new guitar in awe. “That’s the Dimebag guitar you’ve wanted for a long time,” said Sokka. “Mind if I play it?”

“Maybe when you’re not in your boxers, bro,” Azula snarked. “But I’ll let you play it after you freshen up.” 

“Deal!” Sokka exclaimed, then dashed towards the bathroom. Zuko spaced out for ten seconds, thinking about what tonight’s plan was and then the image of the flyer came into his mind. He looked at Azula and began to speak.

“So...Whisky a Go Go with the gang tonight?”

*

As the evening sky showed up that night, the gang each spent their $30 for a ticket at the Whisky. Entering the building, it was dimly lit, just like how Azula pictured it to be. “So...the pit area it is,” Katara muttered, but Suki was able to hear it. 

“What do you have against pits, Katara?” Suki asked her. “Afraid to get caught in a mosh?”

“Nope...not at all,” Katara answered in denial. In fact, she was partially afraid of moshing because the one time she went moshing, it was when she and Aang went to go see Municipal Waste. Normally, she just stands still, crosses her arms, and subtly headbangs to the music. At that show, the pits there were crazy and she didn’t know where to go or stop. Luckily, her and Aang were arm-in-arms in the circle pit. Unfortunately, some folks managed to stage dive at the show and they accidentally collided with the couple, thus causing Katara to be wary of mosh pits. 

“Alright dude, if shit gets crazy, we’re here for you” she said to her with confidence in her voice. “Anyways, Sokka and I are going to grab some beers, so I’ll be back.” As Suki headed to the bar with her boyfriend, Katara decided to hang out with her boyfriend and the two siblings. 

“So this band that we’re seeing right now, have we heard of their music before?” Katara asked the three band members. 

“I checked out one song by these guys earlier today,” said Azula. “My assumptions were correct, they’re like Motörhead, but they’re an all-female band.”

“Just like Motörhead?” Aang asked her.

“Well, having listened to it a few times, some of their riffs and hooks are a mix of speed and thrash metal,” she explained. “So they could be just like us...who knows. They’re still classified as a heavy metal band according to their bio.”

“Do you know what they look like?” Zuko asked.

“All females in a metal band, that’s all,” said Azula.

Sokka and Suki came back to the gang, with Sokka finishing off his cup of beer and Suki halfway done. “What did we miss?” he asked the group.

“Nothing much really,” said Aang. “We were just finding out what this band looked like and Azula said it was mostly just females in a metal band.” Suki chuckled at Aang’s answer and looked at Azula.

“I believe her,” said Suki. “Now we just wait for them to come on the stage and play some mean riffs.”

The lights on stage were lit up with shades of red and purple. Out came four young women, around the same age as the gang. First was a blind girl who sported long black hair. She carried a white cane, sported a Judas Priest shirt with the British Steel artwork, black skinny jeans, and a pair of Doc Marten boots. She grabbed the microphone and tapped it with her index finger so she can make sure it’s on. 

Following her was a tall girl with black hair and bangs covering her forehead. She wore a Suicidal Tendencies shirt, black skinny jeans, and a pair of white Adidas Entrap sneakers that complemented her outfit. She picked up a natural ash 70s Fender Stratocaster that had a Floyd Rose bridge, a rosewood fretboard, and a black pickguard that had a DiMarzio DP193 Air Norton humbucker on it. It was plugged into a Marshall JCM800 head and a MX412BR cab. 

Following them was a tall woman, who appeared to be in her late 20s and sported two red serpent tattoos on both arms. She wore a Motörhead tank top, black skinny jeans, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors. The woman picked up a 1978 Rickenbacker 4001 in the ruby red colorway from the stand and plugged it into a Fender Rumble 350 bass amp.

Another girl entered the stage, having brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. She wore a Mercyful Fate shirt that featured the Don’t Break the Oath artwork, a pair of black shorts, and a pair of Doc Martens, just like the frontwoman of the band. She grabbed a 1982 Greco Flying V that had an antique white finish, resembling the Flying V that James Hetfield used in the early days of Metallica. That guitar was plugged into a Marshall JCM 255X Silver Jubilee and a Marshall MX412BR cab. 

The last person to enter the stage was a girl who looked like she was Aang’s relative, having greyish eyes, but had long brown hair as well. She wore a Kill ‘Em All t-shirt, woodland camo shorts, and a pair of white Nike Cortez sneakers. She sat behind an 8-piece DW kit equipped with Remo heads and Paiste cymbals.

The frontwoman held onto her microphone and began to speak into it. “How are you doing Los Angeles?!” her voice bellowed into the mic, the audience cheering in response. “My name is Toph Beifong. Here on my right is Mai, on my left is June, and to the very left is On Ji! Behind me is Ty Lee! We are BadgërMöle and we are going to start this show off with a cover. This one is the first track off of the Anthrax album Among the Living, this song is called Among...the...Living!”

“I knew they played some thrash!” Azula muttered to Zuko as she was watching the band play. Mai played the opening clean riff of the song, with Ty Lee pounding on the drums. On Ji and June joined in, creating a colossal sound of thrashy distortion. Both Mai and On Ji then played dual harmonies on the opening riff. After that, people were now headbanging to the chunky intro riff of the song and a circle pit was about to stir up. 

“This is some good shit right here,” said Sokka as he was lightly headbanging. The band came to a brief stop and Ty Lee immediately counted off the next part of the song with her drumsticks. She then played a fast skank beat, a quick drum fill, and then pummeled on the double kick pedals. The gang witnessed the mosh pit getting more intense and it sucked Aang and Katara in like a tornado tearing down a house. 

“Fuck, they got caught in a mosh,” said Zuko. “I’m hopping in.” He then entered the pit with ease and Azula followed suit. Sokka and Suki looked at each other and then looked at the pit. 

“You going in?” he asked her.

“Nah, I wanna see how good they are,” Suki answered as she drank the last of her beer. 

Toph breathed in and expelled her vocals out onto the microphone. “DISEASE, DISEASE! SPREADING THE DISEASE! WITH SOME HELP FROM CAPTAIN TRIPS, HE’LL BRING THE WORLD DOWN TO HIS KNEES!”

“She is a good singer though,” Sokka observed. “Don’t you think so too, Sukes?”

“Yeah, she’s not too bad. I think this band can definitely go on a tour with us.”

*

“Jesus Christ, the pits are just as crazy as Realm of Koh’s, no?” Katara asked Aang as she was moshing with him.

“Those pits are insane, but this is somewhat similar,” said Aang. “I wonder where Zuko and Azula are?”

“That Mai chick’s kinda cute,” said Zuko as he was moshing with Azula. “What are your thoughts?”

“I guess, but she’s got some good guitar techniques. I have to at least see her play some solid leads or something.” 

As the song came to an end, the four of them exited the pit and reunited with Sokka and Suki. They were also sweating profusely in front of the two.

“Having fun?” Suki asked them.

“It’s cool,” said Zuko. “I think we can tour with them or something.”

“Battle of the bands!” Azula exclaimed but then realized her mistake. “Too soon?”

“I don’t know...but we should definitely find a way to get their attention after the show,” Sokka suggested. “Suki, is there any way you can get all of us backstage?” Suki processed her mind for a bit and then came to a conclusion. 

“I have an idea, follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who were wondering where did I hear about Dimebag owning a Hohner guitar and his junior high school talent show, here's the link
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vULwfpOZ-jk&t=856s (Ola Englund visiting Dimebag's Guitar Vault, 14:00 marker)
> 
> Chapter 6 will be here as soon as possible and as always, stay safe guys!


	6. Dingy Situations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Azula meet three out of the five members of BadgërMöle, discovering some interesting things about them and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 is here, guys! I know June in the show can be a bit dark and uncaring, but this is the only time June can be a bit of a flirt. Also, this chapter contains not-so-subtle Tyzula moments.

“Are we seriously going to sneak into the green room?” Aang asked Suki, feeling a state of discomfort at the same time. Suki scouted the area for a bit and eyed on the entrance to the green room. If in the case that security were to intercept the gang’s mission, she would have to make up some witty excuse or something like that in order to get through. Azula muttered Dimebag’s signature phrase so that if he were to come here, security would probably assume that they were his roadies or something. 

“The entrance looks clear to me,” Suki affirmed the gang. As she was nearing the entrance to the hallway that led to the green room, a security guard wearing all black clothing stopped them in their midst. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” he interrogated the young woman. “No one’s allowed backstage unless you’re V.I.P. or you’re playing the same show as the bands here are.”

As Suki was about to come up with a witty response to his question, Zuko got up and stared at the guy like a hawk eyeing on his prey before closing in. The security guard immediately recognized his trademark scar/birthmark. 

“Hey...you’re that guy from that thrash band, right?” he asked the Realm of Koh bassist/frontman. “Realm of Koh, no?”

“Yeah, I’m the bassist and vocalist for the band. How did you know?” Zuko asked him.

“I overheard BadgërMöle talk about you guys being signed into the same record label that they’re in. When they mentioned your band’s name, I had to look you guys up on the internet or something. You guys looked menacing. It’s impressive that you guys are a part of the Bay Area thrash scene.”

“Well, we’re technically from Republic City,” Sokka butted in before denying the band’s place of origin. “So we’re -”

“A part of the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Katara as she glared at her older brother. “But yes, Realm of Koh is a part of the Bay Area Thrash scene. My brother and his three friends here play in that band.” Azula stood up after crouching down for an extended period of time and Aang followed suit. 

“I guess because of the fact that you guys are here at this show, I’ll let you into the green room to meet up with BadgërMöle,” said the security guard. “Just wait until they’re done with their set.”

“Are they the only band playing tonight?” Suki asked.

“No, they’re opening up for some band called Soulfly or something,” he answered. 

“Max Cavalera’s band?” Azula asked. “That’s fucking cool.”

“Yea, but I wish it was the original Sepultura lineup though...anyways, you guys should wait until these guys are done with their set, capeesh?”

The gang nodded and waited by the bar until BadgërMöle was done with their set.

*

When BadgërMöle finished their set, the gang realized it was now their time to shine. The security guard guided them to the green room, where the band was residing temporarily. Knocking on the door, the security told the quintet that there were some special guests coming in to meet them.

“Who could they be?” June asked him.

“Um...they’re the Bay Area band, Realm of Koh,” he said to her.

“No way...shut up,” Ty Lee said in amusement. “Shut up!”

“Yea, here they are,” he unblocked the doorway, letting the Los Angeles band meet the Bay Area band for the first time. Ty Lee’s eyes widened up when she saw Azula enter the room, who responded back by immediately looking away.

“Hey there,” she approached the tomboyish-looking guitarist with a flirty tone of voice. “What’s your name?”

“Azula, and you are?” she asked Ty Lee. 

“Name’s Ty Lee...you’re really cute,” Ty Lee continued flirting with her, Azula unsure of what to respond back with from that compliment. 

“Oh..umm, thank you,” she hesitated. “So you’re the drummer, right? You’re pretty good.”

“Yea, I’ve been drumming since I was twelve. I’m also one of the co-founders of the band,” said Ty Lee. “What instrument do you play?”

“I play guitar,” said Azula. “I’ve been playing since I was probably fifteen.”

“Oooh, that’s cool. Who inspired you to play guitar?” Ty Lee curiously asked her. “I wanna know.” 

“I have a bunch, but I can give you my top five to make things easier,” said Azula. Ty Lee nodded and rested her arm on the side of the couch, with her chin resting on the palm of her left hand. “So my number five guitar hero is Dave Davidson of Revocation, if you’ve heard of that band.” Ty Lee shook her head, giving Azula the assumption that she isn’t as extreme as her. “Oh...well they’re like a mix of technical death metal, thrash metal, and some jazz. Pretty underrated if you ask me.”

“I should check them out sometime,” said Ty Lee. “Go on.”

“Number four would have to be Jeff Hanneman of fuckin’ Slayer. He wrote all of the memorable songs like Angel of Death, Raining Blood, Dead Skin Mask, At Dawn They Sleep, Necrophiliac, Postmortem, and World Painted Blood.”

“Oh fuck yea, I love Slayer. Probably one of the heaviest bands I’ve listened to. R.I.P Jeff.” 

“Yeah, R.I.P Jeff. Number three would have to be Chuck Schuldiner of Death. The father of death metal and a phenomenal songwriter,” said Azula. 

“Another legend, rest in peace,” said Ty Lee. Azula blushed whenever she looked at her, but was also relieved that she also appreciated the metal legends that she looked up to. 

“Number two would have to be the Downpicking God himself.”

“James Hetfield? Oh that’s sick.”

“Yeah, chunky riffs and his songs made me capable of downpicking,” Azula laughed. “Okay, my number one guitarist would have to be…”

“Is it Eddie Van Halen?” Ty Lee asked her. Azula shook her head no, but she told her that it was one of her heroes. “Is it Steve Vai?” She shook her head no. “Is it Dimebag?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“I just guessed. But I also like Pantera in case you were wondering.” This revelation shocked Azula. 

“No way. You like Pan-fucking-Tera?” she asked the drummer. “I actually have a Dimebag guitar on me!” She pulled out her phone and entered her camera roll, showing Ty Lee the Dean From Hell that she got from Dimebag himself. 

“Oh that’s so cool,” Ty Lee observed the photo of Azula’s new guitar. “How does it play?”

“Action’s nice and low, and it’s really fun to play,” Azula responded. “So how about you? What are your drumming influences?” Ty Lee began to think about what drummers inspired her to play hard and fast. She then mentally formalized her list and began to speak to Azula about it. 

“So I have three drummers in mind,” she said to the guitarist. “Dave Lombardo, Phil Taylor aka Philthy Animal, and Mike Portnoy.”

“Who would be your fourth?” Azula asked. “Is it Gene Hoglan?”

“He’s up there, but he’s got crazy skill,” said Ty Lee. “We should jam out sometime, what’s your number?” Azula reached her hand out, allowing Ty Lee to hand her phone to her so she could put her number on her contact list. 

“That’s my number,” said Azula. “Text me with your name so I can know it’s you.”

“I gotchu boo,” said Ty Lee as her thumbs tapped on the phone screen. Azula’s phone vibrated and she picked it up. Looking at the screen, it said “Hey, this is Ty Lee” with a smirk emoji at the end. 

*

“So...you’re the frontman?” June asked Zuko, having a tone of voice that sounded very flirty. “Heard you got a powerful voice.”

“Ehhhh, I disagree,” said Zuko. “I do play bass though.”

“Oh, a bass player. Tell me, what bass do you play?” June asked him. “Because all I have is my trusty ole Rickenbacker.”

“I just have an ESP bass guitar,” said Zuko. “Frank Bello signature.”

“Seriously?” she asked him. “Show me.” Zuko reached for his front jean pocket and grabbed his cell phone. He showed the older woman his trusty bass guitar, a Jazz bass-shaped metal machine that had a fitting black and red colorway. “Huh...nice,” she looked closely at the photo. “First bass guitar?”

“No,” Zuko replied. “My first bass guitar was a Fender JP-90 bass, owned by my uncle.”

“Who’s your uncle?” June asked him.

“Um...Iroh of The Rough Rhinos fame,” he answered. “Are you familiar with those guys?”

June went silent, causing Zuko to feel very awkward. Her eyes grew wide, mouth becoming agape. She then resumed the conversation. “You’re Iroh’s nephew? No way!” she said to him, a tone of excitement coming out of her voice. “The Rough Rhinos are one of my favorite bands!” Azula overheard their conversation and butted in.

“You like The Rough Rhinos?” Azula interrogated her. “Why???”

“Their music screams sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll...what else is there to describe about them?” she replied. Azula cringed, giving June the notion that she had some deep-seated hatred of the hair metal genre. Zuko did not know how to digest the sentences she stated, so he just awkwardly stood there staring at June. “Was that too much?” she innocently asked Zuko.

“I also forgot to say that my dad also played in that band,” said Zuko. “He’s the guitarist and vocalist of The Rough Rhinos.”

“OZAI’S YOUR DAD?!?” she squealed and grabbed Zuko’s favorite shirt by the collar. Azula was irked by June’s lust for Zuko, so she inched away as much as she could while maintaining eye contact with Ty Lee. 

“Hey, that’s my favorite shirt!” Zuko pulled away from her. “I got this when I went to go see Power Trip a while back!” He noticed that she had a crush on the young 20-something-year old because he was the son of a hair metal artist. 

“Sorry,” June apologized, but then her face lit up. “What’s your dad like? I like your dad.”

“It’s a long and complicated story,” he said to her. “Let’s just say that he did some stupid things in the past and it resulted in him ending up in rehab.” June pouted at his response and grabbed him into a firm hug, burying his face into her chest. 

“You poor thing!” she exclaimed as Zuko awkwardly did nothing.

Sokka’s eyes were trailing off into space until they landed on the sight of Zuko being caressed by June. Not understanding the context before that situation, he chuckled at the awkward scenario. “Yea Zuko! I’m proud of you buddy! Whoo!!!!!” Sokka cheered on as if he was slightly hammered. Suki looked at what he was talking about and quietly giggled at the bizarreness of the situation. Zuko had a feeling he was being embarrassed by his friends and the other band, but of course, he couldn’t see it. 

“Can you let me go now?” Zuko’s deadpan voice muffled as his face was still planted on June’s breasts.

“You’re going through so much pain, just let it all out,” she responded to his question as she rubbed the back of his head. Because of all the commotion, Mai stopped noodling with her Stratocaster and sternly looked at June. 

“What are you doing?” she asked June in a monotonous and raspy tone of voice. “He doesn’t look comfortable there.”

“He confessed his feelings and stuff, that’s all,” June replied. “He’s pretty handsome, look at him.” She pushed Zuko back up, allowing him to deeply inhale all the oxygen that was available in this green room. Mai gave a good look at the young bassist and pursed her lips in approval of his physical appearance. 

“I like your shirt,” said Mai. 

“Heh heh...thanks,” Zuko chuckled. “You like Power Trip?”

“I’ve listened to their stuff here and there,” said Mai. “They’re pretty good.”

“I saw them live a while back. Well, my sister and I.”

“That’s cool. Were you guys in the pit at that show?”

“Yeah, it was fun as hell honestly. I heard you guys are signed to Red Lotus Records.”

“Yep,” said Mai. “Roster isn’t too big, but the guy who wants to add your band to the roster, he seems like a cool guy I guess.”

“Who is this guy that wants us to sign to his record label?” Zuko asked her. 

“His name’s Zaheer. He came from the punk scene back in the 1980s if I can recall and he formed a hardcore punk band with his friends called Red Lotus Order, which is what the record label was named after.”

“I think I’ve heard of that band, but I never bothered to listen to them,” said Zuko.

“They just sound like Black Flag, that’s one way to describe them,” said Mai as she played a blues lick on her Stratocaster. “By the way, he’s hosting a Red Lotus Records gig three days from now, so feel free to come perform with us or whatever.” She pulled up a flyer from her Instagram and showed it to Zuko. It said:

RED LOTUS RECORDS PRESENTS...  
A NIGHT OF CHAOS

BANDS:  
\- KYOSHI (DEATHGRIND – TECHNICAL DEATH METAL)  
\- SOZIN’S COMET (HARDCORE PUNK)  
\- DARKNESS FALLS (BLACK METAL)  
\- BADGËRMÖLE (HEAVY METAL – SPEED METAL – THRASH METAL)  
AND MORE!

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

“We’ll be there,” said Zuko. “You might want to give me your username so I can keep in touch with you.”

“For sure,” said Mai as she received Zuko’s phone, typing in her username on his Instagram profile. “That’s me, I’ll follow you back later tonight or tomorrow.”

“Cool cool,” said Zuko. “I guess I’ll see you then.”

“Yea, nice meeting you too, June’s boyfriend.” Zuko responded back with a blank stare, causing Mai to laugh. “I’m kidding man, I’m kidding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The relationship between the two bands is just getting started. Will we know that Zuko might end up with Mai in this story? Will we know that Realm of Koh might play a show at that specific venue? We will find that out when Chapter 7 arrives. Stay safe guys!


	7. Thrash Maniacs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang discusses about what the practice room is going to be like. Azula and Katara talk about past band memories, as well as Katara and Sokka's dad being a former musician. The band also shows their new labelmates their brief performance while doing soundcheck in their music room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 is finally here, full of thrashy goodness and partially mushy moments. I hope you guys enjoy this one.

The gang drove back to the hotel, having endured the horrible traffic on Sunset Boulevard. It was, according to their GPS, the simplest and more straightforward route, but it was the longest because of the high traffic. If there was one thing they’ll take away from this event, it’s to never move to Los Angeles. When the van entered the parking lot of their hotel, the gang then arrived at their room, breathing out a sigh of relief as they settled down. 

“Red Lotus Records is going to host a house show. That sounds like a good opportunity for us to show them what we’re like,” said Azula. “The only question here is...where are we going to practice our songs?”

“I texted Mai about that one,” Zuko replied. “She said that BadgërMöle practices at June’s house, which also serves as a rehearsal and recording studio.”

“They have a lot of space?” Sokka asked. Zuko held his phone out in front of Sokka, showing him pictures of the place that they’ll jam out in tomorrow. “Oh shit, they came prepared,” he observed the photos. “The only musical equipment we brought is our two guitars, effects units for Azula and I, and your bass guitar.”

“Don’t worry about that, I asked her if there were spare rigs or equipment to use and she said that there are some guitar heads and cabs, as well as bass amps that can be used to jam out or record stuff with,” Zuko assured Sokka, who responded back with a sigh of relief. 

“How about drums?” Aang asked Zuko. “Ty Lee’s set up is different from mine.”

“Don’t worry bud, I asked Ty Lee about that,” Azula interjected. “She said that her drum kit in the studio is more similar to yours than hers. It’s also a Tama kit, she just happened to use the DW kit as a touring drum kit.”

“Alright, cool cool,” said Aang. 

“Do you know what time we’ll have to meet up with them tomorrow?” Suki asked Zuko. 

“Around noon probably,” said Zuko. “They’ll let us know.”

*

Azula was the first to wake up early in the morning – as always – and entered the bathroom to freshen up. After putting her clothes on, she opened up her guitar case and picked up her beloved Dean From Hell, inspecting the sheer beauty of it from the headstock to the chrome Floyd Rose bridge. Grabbing a Ziploc bag full of blue Dunlop Tortex Flex picks from her ESP guitar case, she strummed a G major chord. The strings rang with clarity and she then proceeded to play a simple pentatonic blues lick as a way to get warmed up. A smile began to form as she looked down at her new guitar in awe, but then she looked at her ESP guitar case, feeling a sense of guilt for not giving it love.

“I might as well bring both guitars,” she said to herself. “All my good riffs are tuned to E-flat and this one is already in E standard.” Azula then put the Dean From Hell back in the case, securing the latches and then opened her ESP case. “The good ole Scythe,” she said as she slung the guitar over. She then pulled out a Snark tuner from the guitar case’s accessory compartment and clipped it on her guitar’s headstock. Tuning it back into pitch, she turned off her Snark tuner, pulled out her earbuds and her phone. Plugging her earbuds into her phone, she opened her Spotify app and began playing along to a couple Slayer songs like Born of Fire, Chemical Warfare, and The Antichrist. 

Katara woke up to the sounds of Azula playing unplugged renditions of Slayer songs and rose up from the bed she was sleeping on. Rubbing her eyes, she then approached her and asked, “Why are you up at this time?”

Azula stopped playing and removed her earbuds, the sounds of Slayer still being played through them. “I’m just getting warmed up, that’s all,” she said to her friend. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, but the rest of the band is going to get warmed up by the time we meet up with that other band,” Katara yawned. 

“Yeah, but I just like to be ahead of things sometimes,” said Azula. She then tried to think of another topic so that Katara wouldn’t doze off and then came to one. “This hotel has a restaurant, you want to grab some breakfast? Just the two of us...you know...hanging out.”

“I’d like to, just give me a couple of minutes to get ready,” Katara answered, still feeling a bit tired after waking up. 

“Alright, just take your time, dude,” said Azula.

*

Azula and Katara went downstairs to the hotel’s cafe to grab some food and sat down at one of the outdoor tables of the cafe. Katara began to feast on a pasty that she bought from the cafe, while Azula took a sip of their exclusive espresso. “I can’t believe we’re going to play a show for a record label that actually likes my band’s music,” she reflected. “Remember the first time Realm of Koh played a show?”

Katara looked up from her plate and looked at Azula, chuckling at the distant memory of her boyfriend’s first gig. “I remember that show,” she said to Azula. “My dad likes your guys’ music. He told Sokka that his band sounds like those 80s thrash bands.”

“I appreciate his feedback,” said Azula. “I was so nervous when we did that show.”

“That’s completely normal,” Katara empathized. “Did Sokka or I tell you that my dad was in a band?”

“I think Sokka did, but he wasn’t really specific about what band he was in,” Azula replied.

“Yeah, my dad was in one of those punk bands. He sang and played guitar for his punk band.”

“As in hardcore punk?” Azula asked. “Like the 80s Hardcore or that chuggy Beatdown stuff?”

“He was a skateboarder,” Katara laughed. “My dad was into that 90s skate punk scene. The stuff that you listen to when you play those Tony Hawk games.”

“Oh so like Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, and Pennywise?” 

“Yeah exactly. He introduced it to Sokka and I. My dad’s also into a lot of that beatdown hardcore stuff too...bands like Madball, Sick of It All, Terror, and Hatebreed. I never got into that genre, but I liked the skate punk and 80s hardcore bands like you mentioned.”

“Yeah for sure. Hatebreed is cool though,” said Azula. “Is your mom into that kind of music?”

“My mom was into a lot of grunge and punk bands like Mudhoney, Melvins, and the Ramones; but she also liked the stuff that you mentioned, the 80s hardcore stuff. ”

“Oh nice. They seem to get along though,” said Azula.

“Yeah, they actually met in college and they’re both musicians. He actually met her because she wore a Black Flag shirt in a history class one time,” said Katara. 

“Has your mom been to your dad’s shows back then?” Azula asked her. 

“Oh yeah, she’d literally go to every single show that he was playing at. Remember that Jackson guitar that Sokka used to play?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“My mom bought that as a birthday gift for my dad. I think you know that already.”

“I didn’t know, neither did Sokka tell me that whenever we would practice at his pad. Anyways, that sounds like couple goals right there. Is Aang into the stuff your dad’s into though?” Azula asked.

“No, he’s just like you and Zuko, all about that 80s hardcore and thrash metal music,” Katara laughed. “Whenever we’re hanging out or traveling, he’s always playing stuff like Minor Threat, Discharge, and some underground metal stuff. Besides, he ended up being your drummer for that reason.”

“Oh yeah definitely, we all make angry music and that’s our outlet I guess,” said Azula as she finished off her espresso. As the two of them headed back to the hotel room, they still noticed that their friends were still sleeping, except for Suki, who woke up when she saw them enter. 

“Where did you guys go?” Suki groggily asked the two. 

“We went to the cafe downstairs to grab breakfast,” said Katara. 

“Oh cool, I would’ve been down to go if I woke up earlier,” said Suki. “Anyways, I’ll sleep now.”

“It’s almost 8,” said Azula as she gently shook Suki by planting her hand on her bicep. “Y’all should probably get ready soon.”

*

The gang drove up to a hilly neighborhood somewhere in Los Angeles. There, the houses had a modern aesthetic and the cars parked on the driveways were a mix of vintage and contemporary. Parking Appa near the house they were assigned to meet up in, Zuko paced his way up to the front porch and pressed the doorbell. The sound of a door being unlocked was heard and Mai appeared as it opened. 

“Oh good, you guys are here,” she said to Zuko. “Right this way.” 

Mai then escorted the gang to a spacious room. The walls were covered in soundproof foam panels and a huge Ottoman rug covered almost half of the room’s floor. Sitting atop of the rug was the Tama 8-piece kit that Zuko mentioned to Aang. Fitted with Paiste cymbals and Evans heads, it was the ideal kit for a drummer who was down to jam. To the left of the kit was a Marshall JCM900 head and a 4x12 cab. To the right of the kit was a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Road King and Mesa Boogie 4x12 cab. The bass amp in the room was an Ampeg BA-210v2 450 watt amplifier. The room also had a handful of Shure SM57 and SM58 microphones, as well as a couple of drum mics that were set up around the kit itself. 

Sokka gently laid down his guitar case and opened it up, pulling out his beloved ESP Gary Holt signature guitar and slinging it over his body. Azula lowered her two guitar cases and opened her Dean guitar case. “Let’s see how powerful this combination would be,” she commented as she switched her gaze between the Dean From Hell and the Mesa Boogie amplifier. Zuko opened his bass guitar case and picked up his ESP Frank Bello case. Aang settled himself down onto the kit, testing the kick pedals and the drums to make sure everything is in tune. He then played a paradiddle on the snare drum to see if it sounds good. 

On Ji entered the music room and saw the band setting up their respective rigs. “Sorry to barge in like that,” she said to the group. “I like your guys' instruments though.” Zuko looked at her as he played a simple bass line to see if it was working.

“Oh, thanks,” he replied back. “Do you want to watch us play some songs?”

“I’d like to,” she said to Zuko. On Ji grabbed a chair and sat next to Suki and Katara. “Hey,” she said to the two girls. Suki slightly nodded her head as she lent On Ji a bottle of water while Katara turned her head to look at the BadgërMöle guitarist. 

“Hey man,” said Katara.

After Sokka, Azula, and Zuko tuned their instruments, Zuko went up to his microphone and tested it to see if the PA system was working. “Hey On Ji,” he said. “Can you see if the PA’s working?” On Ji got up from her chair to adjust the PA settings and told Zuko to count from one to four to see if his voice doesn’t overwhelm the other instruments. She then looked at Zuko and gave him a thumbs up, assuring Zuko that the settings are all good now. 

"Alright, so we’re just going to warm ourselves up by playing a cover,” said Zuko as he spoke into the microphone. He turned to his left and asked Azula, “Do you want to play any song of your choice?”

“I’m not sure,” she said and then turned to Sokka. “You have anything in mind, Sockman?”

“I’ve wanted to play an Evile song whenever we’re doing soundcheck,” said Sokka.

“Oh fuck yea...let’s play Underworld by Evile,” Azula suggested to Zuko.

“Okay, so we’re going to play a song by a band called Evile,” Zuko announced. “This is the first track off of the album Skull, this one is called...Underworld.”

The band kicked off the song with an epic introduction ending it with a sustained note and starting the next section of the song with Aang playing a fast skank beat and a drum fill. The sounds of thrash riffs came roaring in while Sokka, Azula, and Zuko started headbanging. Zuko then projected his voice into the mic.

“No sight of the journey’s end! A place where the weaker dread! Condemned to remain forever! Across earth oblivion spreads!” he sang into the mic, his vocals sounding like a mix between Araya and Hetfield. “Crushing the world we built! With power and focused will! The death we created detached! Our reach had exceeded our grasp!”

On Ji leaned next to Suki and began to speak. “They’re pretty good,” she said to the auburn-haired girl. “How do their original songs sound if they were playing in a live setting?”

“Just as good as the songs they covered,” said Suki. “They had a huge crowd the last time they played a show. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“I’ll be damned,” On Ji responded back as she drank her water. After Zuko sang the second verse and chorus of the song, the band headbanged to the bridge section of the song. Following that was Azula’s interpretation of Ol Drake’s solo, with Sokka harmonizing the last half of the song. Zuko then sang into his mic again for the last stanza of the song.

“Living in ruins! Buried beneath! Haunting and timeless! Embrace our release! Under the world!” Zuko shouted, with Sokka and Azula singing the fifth phrase of the outro. “We seek sensing the deep! Back to the dawn! Further we crawl!”

“Under the world! Under the world!” Sokka and Azula harmonized, then their guitars played the outro harmony of the song. After that, their notes continued to sustain until the strings stopped vibrating. 

Mai, June, Ty Lee, and Toph walked in after the band finished their Evile cover. “I heard you guys play while I was eating lunch,” said Toph. "That’s some adrenaline-filled thrash metal right there. A bunch of thrash maniacs!”

“I appreciate the feedback,” Sokka spoke into his microphone. 

“Alright, so the next song is another cover by a band called Sepultura,” said Zuko. “This one is from the 1989 album Beneath the Remains. This one’s called...Inner Self.” Aang counted off the song with his open hi-hat and Azula started chugging her guitar. Sokka and Zuko followed suit, while Aang pounded on the rack tom and floor tom. Following a quick drum fill, Aang pummeled the double kick pedals while the three band members thrashed back and forth.

After performing the buildup riff, the band then kicked off the verse riff of the song, with Zuko singing into the microphone. “Walking these dirty streets! With hate in my mind! Feeling the scorn of the world! I won’t follow your rules!” he shouted. “Blame and lies, contradictions arise! Blame and lies, contradictions arise!”

The band then played the pre-chorus riff of the song and then the chorus riff, with Aang playing a solid d-beat pattern. “Nonconformity in my inner self! Only I guide my inner self!” Zuko sang while Azula then played a fast Andreas Kisser-esque lick and Sokka sustaining his power chords. 

While the band was playing their ass off, Mai walked over to Katara and Suki. “I must say,” she began speaking to them, “you guys are very lucky to be in their lives.” The two girls noticed that Mai was impressed by their performance. 

“We all went to high school together, so they’ve gone a long way,” said Katara.

“Well I can’t wait to see these guys play a show with us, they’re good,” said Mai. “Zuko’s got a good voice and can play bass kinda well, his sister and your brother are solid players, and your boyfriend is very fluid with his drumming.” She blushed as she commented on Zuko’s performance, the three of them looking at her in slight suspicion.

“I get it...you kinda like the guy,” On Ji said to her bandmate. “We got your back if it doesn’t work.” 

“Oh thanks, dude,” Mai chuckled. “But as I was saying earlier, they’re pretty good. Can’t wait to see them play at the show.”

“Thanks,” said Katara as Mai gave her a pat on the shoulder. She then looked at Suki and On Ji with a small but prominent smile on her face.

“Imagine if there was a mosh pit right here,” she said to Suki and On Ji.

“Oh god, that would be crazy to experience,” said On Ji. “Luckily, we’ll be playing outdoors on that night.” Suki turned to her right to talk to On Ji about the upcoming gig.

“So, what else is going to happen at that show?” she asked the guitarist. 

“Not much, it’s also a party so there’s going to be food there. Vegan and non-vegan stuff if you guys were wondering.”

“So...like a barbecue party?” Katara asked. 

“Yea exactly, but also a bunch of good bands are going to come play at that show, so it’s going to be a hell of a great experience,” said On Ji. 

“Oh sick, I guess we have something to look forward to,” said Suki. “Brutally good food and brutally good music.” That was the perfect description for the gig that Realm of Koh was going to perform at: a place that had brutally good food and brutally good music. 

Now that’s brutal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now Realm of Koh is going to play at the Red Lotus Records party in the next chapter, but will they pull off a stellar performance like Sepultura outdoing Sodom during one of their shows back in 1989 or will they fuck up? We'll find that out once the next chapter is posted. Stay safe and stay metal guys!
> 
> For those of you who wanted to check out the two songs Realm of Koh covered, here you go:
> 
> https://youtu.be/zIifXclQhp8 (Underworld - Evile)
> 
> https://youtu.be/ysmRIgM9sko (Inner Self - Sepultura)


	8. The Art of Partying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang takes a day off and spends time at a beloved music store. There, Sokka invests in something that he's been dreaming to get. Realm of Koh also gets a taste of the spotlight at the Red Lotus Records launch party, but will they drive the crowd insane?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay, I have been binge watching Legend of Korra since it came out on Netflix on Friday and I have been reading the Kyoshi novels, so that was also fun. I am also getting ready to go back to college, so I'm definitely going to have to balance between getting my degree and writing this story. Anyways, Chapter 8 is finally here and it's my longest chapter...yet.

The following morning was somewhat peaceful. The sounds of Los Angeles traffic battling the serenity of the gang’s peaceful slumber, well Sokka and Suki’s slumber to be exact. Aang and Katara went out to grab some food from the cafe downstairs while Zuko and Azula were composing some new Realm of Koh material. 

Zuko’s phone started to vibrate while he was sitting at the table writing some new bass licks. Looking at his phone screen, Iroh’s name popped up and he immediately picked up his call. Azula stopped playing her guitar the moment she saw her brother placing the phone onto his right ear. “Hello?” Zuko called. 

“Zuko, my nephew! I just wanted to see how you and Azula are, that’s all,” Iroh said on the other line. “How’s Los Angeles? Did you meet the Red Lotus representative yet?”

“Azula and I are doing well, Uncle,” Zuko replied. “Not yet, we are actually going to play a show at their launch party tomorrow night.”

“That’s wonderful news!” said Iroh. 

“Yeah, we just had a rehearsal yesterday and right now, we’re just taking a day off today.”

“I’m glad to hear that, it’s good to take a break every once in a while.”

“Did you do anything while we were out of town?” Zuko asked.

“Well...I did visit your father a couple of days ago. He wanted to know how you guys are,” Iroh replied. “I showed him videos of your band playing, he likes it. In fact, he wants to see you guys play a show when you get back to Republic City.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear,” said Zuko, a hint of hesitation and doubt coming out of his voice.

“Nephew, I know you and your sister don’t get along with your father, but he acknowledges the fact that he’s made some terrible decisions.”

“I know uncle, but I might need some time to think this over.” 

“Take all the time you have, but remember, your dad still loves you and your sister. He doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes he made in the past.”

“I’ll try uncle,” said Zuko. “Thanks for calling.”

“Anytime nephew, just do what you can while you’re out there,” said Iroh. 

After the call ended, Azula came up to her brother and sat down on the chair next to him. “Who was on the phone?” she asked him.

“Uncle called. He wanted to know how we were and stuff,” he replied. “Also, he told me that dad wants to see us play a show when we get back into town.”

“Oh,” she said. “He visited dad, did he?”

“Yeah, something about dad wanting to acknowledge his mistakes and wrongdoings. Uncle also told me that dad regrets the decisions he made and that he wants us to not end up in that same path he was in.”

“Figures,” said Azula. “What else did you say to uncle about that whole thing?”

“I told him that I need some time to think this through, you know?” 

“I feel you,” said Azula. She then embraced her brother for a bit before getting up from the table and opening the mini fridge. “Love you dum-dum.”

“You too,” Zuko mumbles. “You too.”

Aang and Katara entered the hotel room after their typical breakfast gathering. Sokka and Suki woke up from the sound of the other couple slamming the door, their eyes bulging wide open. “Can you guys not do that, especially after you guys come back from your downstairs oogie session?” Sokka asked, with snarkiness in his tone. “I just had a good ass dream and you ruined it!”

“I’m sorry, your highness,” Katara snarked back as she jokingly bowed to her older brother. “Perhaps tell me what your dream was about so I can retrieve it back to your brain?”

“No,” said Sokka. “I don’t remember what it is now.”

“Okay guys, y’all should stop being so petty...especially you Sockman,” Azula jabbed. “Anyways, since it’s the day off today, what do you guys want to do?” The gang, minus Sokka and Suki, gave themselves a couple of seconds to think of an answer.

“Oh I know!” Aang exclaimed. “Let’s go check out some music stores, there’s a bunch on Sunset Boulevard.”

“That is a fact,” said Azula. “But isn’t parking going to be an issue?”

“I guess,” Aang grumbled, but his mood was then rejuvenated when he thought of a solution to that dilemma. “Perhaps we should go there a bit early, that way we can get free parking!” 

“What store are you thinking of specifically, Aang?” Katara asked her boyfriend. Aang pulled out his phone from his front pocket and typed up stores that were near their current location. A list then appeared on his screen, showing the different music stores that were on Sunset.

“Let’s hit up the first store we see, in sequential order,” said Aang.

“So in this list...the first store is a Sam Ash store?” Azula asked him as she looked over his phone. “There’s two though.”

“Yeah, there’s the guitar store and a drum store that’s across from it,” Aang explained to his bandmate. “We’ll hit up the guitar section and after that, we’ll go to the drum store part of Sam Ash.” Azula and the others liked how this plan is going out, but at the same time, it would also be the first time she would go to a Sam Ash store, since there were hardly any in Republic City...or in the Bay Area in general.

*

Aang parked Appa on a street that was directly next to the guitar section of the Sam Ash store. Looking at the parking meter that was a foot away from the van, he looked at the gang and started to speak. “Anyone willing to pay for parking?” he asked. No one wanted to pay, but before Aang was on the verge of seeing red, Sokka stepped in and inserted his credit card. 

“We’re giving ourselves at least four hours to kill while we’re here,” said Sokka as he put his card back into his pocket. “You can thank me later.” As the gang entered the Sam Ash store, they witnessed a first-hand experience in musical instrument heaven. Rows of guitars and basses were hanging on the walls and on stands. Complimenting them were stacks of amplifiers, both solid state and tube amps. 

“If I had a shit ton of cash, I’d buy all the guitars here,” Azula said in awe. She then eyed on an EVH Striped Series 5150 guitar and grabbed it off the wall. “Excuse me, do you guys have any cables?” she asked one of the employees. After an employee handed her the cable, she plugged the guitar into a Boss Katana amplifier and turned it on. Rolling the volume up to ten, she strummed an open E power chord. The sound of chunky, scooped distortion rang with clarity. Inspecting the guitar, she observed the simple layout and user-friendly playability. Azula then played one of her personal favorite Van Halen songs and a song that Iroh taught her, Atomic Punk. 

Sokka looked around the store, eyeing on several ESP guitars hanging above him. “No way! Hetfield Iron Cross? Hetfield Snakebyte? Snow White Gary Holt signature?” he rhetorically asked himself in awe. Suki came up to him and looked at the guitars as well.

“You looking for another guitar?” she asked him. 

“I don’t know which one to get though,” he said. “I got my dad’s Jackson Soloist and my ESP Gary Holt guitar.” 

Suki looked around the store and saw the used section of the store. The auburn-haired girl eyed on the wall of used guitars, looking for the ideal guitar for her boyfriend until she came to a sudden stop. Her eyes were locked onto an ESP guitar, but it wasn’t just any ESP guitar. It was an all-black Jeff Hanneman signature ESP, with the complementary Kahler tremolo. “I’ve never seen this guitar before,” she said to herself as she approached it. Gently grabbing it off the wall, she sat down on one of the barstools and openly strummed all six strings.

“Sukes, what did you find?” he asked her. Suki then showed him the Jeff Hanneman guitar in her hands. His jaw dropped in awe. “No way,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to own a guitar like this.” Looking at the price tag, it was definitely a steal for sure. “800 bucks...not bad.”

“It looks like your Jackson guitar,” said Suki.

“You’re not wrong,” Sokka replied. “This particular model is based on Jeff Hanneman’s own Jackson guitar. That’s what makes it so cool.” Suki grabbed another barstool and placed it next to her so that she can see Sokka play some riffs on the guitar up close. As he sat down on the stool and plugged the guitar into one of the amplifiers, Sokka began to play a medley of Slayer riffs, a few Death songs, and some classic Testament riffs. “Wow,” he said in awe. “It has a lot of sustain.” Zuko approached the two and looked at Sokka jamming out on what could be his future guitar. 

“Whatcha got there bro?” he asked Sokka. Sokka diverted his attention away from the guitar and looked back at Zuko.

“Zuko, look at this,” Sokka responded and reached his arms out to show Zuko the guitar he was playing. “This must be my lucky day.”

“I see,” said Zuko. “I’ll get Azula, give me a minute.” He walked up to his sister, who was finished jamming out to a bunch of Van Halen riffs. Azula then looked up at her brother as she unplugged the cable from the amplifier.

“What’s up?” she asked him.

“You gotta see this guitar that Sokka’s playing right now,” he said to her.

“I’ll be there in a bit, just let me put away the cable and the guitar. Speaking of the guitar, what do you think of this one?” She presented the EVH Striped Series 5150 guitar to Zuko, who inspected every little detail about the instrument. 

“That’s pretty fuckin’ cool,” said Zuko. “If Uncle was with us right now, he would’ve snagged that guitar the moment he saw it.”

“You’re not wrong,” Azula chuckled as she handed the cable back to one of the employees. “So what guitar is Sokka playing?” Zuko escorted her to the spot that Suki and Sokka were hanging out at. As Azula walked up to the three, she saw Sokka laying his hands on a guitar that she had never seen in person. “So...that’s the Hanneman guitar.”

“Yeap, that’s right!” said Sokka. “Never thought I’d see one end up here. It’s only 800 bucks, not bad for a used guitar.” 

“800?” Azula asked. 

“Yeah, that’s the street price, but it could cost more if you added the plus tax and warranty stuff,” said Sokka. “Too bad I don’t have the funds to get this guitar.” Azula recalled the time she told Zuko about her wanting to get the Dean From Hell. More specifically, she wanted to get the one that was $800 on Reverb. Luckily, she still saved up a ton of money from her old job and the sales from the band merch. 

“I’ll do it,” she interjected. Sokka looked at her, feeling a bit skeptical about the plan.

“You don’t have to,” he said to her. 

“I already have the Dean From Hell anyway, let’s consider this as a ‘treat-yo-self’ type of gift,” said Azula. Sokka gave out a subtle smile as he heard her suggestion and decided to comply with it. Aang and Katara hung out in front of the store, waiting for the four of them to be finished spending time inside the store. 

“I bet they bought something,” said Katara. 

“Babe, I have a feeling that they did,” Aang added on. He then heard the door open and out came the four members of the gang. Sokka was carrying a guitar case and had a big smile plastered on his face. Aang looked at Katara and said, “Sokka bought a guitar.”

“You bought another guitar?” she interrogated her older brother.

“Azula paid it for me, your highness,” said Sokka. “It’s not just any guitar though. It’s a Jeff Hanneman signature.”

“Oh nice, when can we see it?” Aang asked him.

“We’ll see it when we get back to the hotel, but dude, it’s so sick!” Sokka answered. “I’m definitely going to use this for the show, plus I bought some strings along the way.”

*

After the gang’s day off ended, the big day was now here. The Red Lotus Records launch party was starting later that night, so the band went over to Mai’s house to practice their set in the morning. As the evening arrived, the band rolled up to a decent-looking neighborhood somewhere in Los Angeles. Entering the house that hosted the gig, they looked at the sizable crowd having a great time. It was as if the Ba Sing Se show followed them down the road. 

“So this is what a Red Lotus launch party is,” said Sokka as he looked around for food. The scent of barbecue garnered his attention and his mouth began to water. “They got meat…” he trailed off and then grabbed Aang by the shirt, heavily breathing into his face. “They got meat! Meet me in the backyard!”

“The meat-and-sarcasm guy, very fitting,” Azula snarked as she headed for the backyard. Entering the backyard was another sizable crowd. Luckily, they were here to see the first band on the list play their set. 

It was a three piece band composed of a tall, yet attractive woman covered in face paint; another woman whose physical appearance reminded the group of Azula, and a man who looked like he was Aang’s age. The tall woman picked up an ESP E-II Horizon FR-7 guitar that was plugged into a Randall Century 200 head combined with a Randall RG412 4x12 cabinet while the other woman picked up a MusicMan StingRay 5 Special HH bass guitar. That bass guitar was then plugged into a Marshall MB450H bass head combined with an MBC410 4x10 cabinet. The young drummer played a Pearl Export EXX 8-piece drum kit, with drum triggers on the kick drums for extra speed. 

As the tall woman grabbed the mic, her sultry voice spoke into the mic. “Red Lotus Records, we are glad that we are playing a show for tonight’s launch party.” She rose her left hand up into the air, throwing the metal horns in front of the crowd. The crowd cheered on as she looked at them, then she resumed her speech. “My name is Kyoshi, on my right is Rangi, and on the drums is Lek! The first song we are going to play is called, Bathe...in...BLOOD!!!!!!” the last word was projected into a low guttural sound as she spoke into the microphone. 

Lek counted off on the hi-hat, then he threw in a couple of fast drum fills before switching to some very intense blast beats. Rangi started to windmill her head as she and Kyoshi tremolo picked several chromatic chord passages, as well as some technical riffs here and there. Kyoshi then began to sing very harsh gutturals, yet they were audible for everyone to hear. 

“Holy fucking shit,” said Azula as she still held onto her Dean guitar case. “These guys are insane!” For a trio, they weren’t that bad, though it did remind her of a familiar band. 

“Don’t these guys remind you of Dying Fetus?” Zuko asked her. 

“Might as well say that, but they got some kickass riffage right here,” she replied. As the group, minus Sokka who was grabbing a plate full of burgers, was enjoying the opening act of the show; a stocky, but somewhat tall man approached them. He had a shaved head and looked quite menacing on the outside. When he began to speak, his voice had this gruff tone yet there was a sense of calmness.

“You guys must be the thrash metal band Realm of Koh?” he asked them. 

Zuko turned his head to see the man and answered, “Yes. We are Realm of Koh. You are?”

“Zaheer, founder of Red Lotus Records. It’s a pleasure to meet you guys in person,” the man replied. Aang reached his hand out for a handshake and Zaheer returned the favor. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” said Aang. “We just want to say thank you for letting us have the opportunity to sign up for a record label that represents all things heavy and extreme.” Zaheer nodded at Aang’s gratitude and then looked at the group.

“Are you guys enjoying the show?” he asked the group. 

“Yea, couldn’t wait to play,” said Sokka as he emerged out of nowhere. He was munching on a hamburger from the nearby grill and looked at Zaheer. “This is some really good food, how did you have the funds for this?”

“I don’t, these folks that help set up this event are close friends of mine,” Zaheer explained.

“Oh that’s pretty cool,” said Aang, but then stopped to think about who Zaheer reminded him of. “You know mister Zaheer...you remind me of a certain someone.”

“Really?” the older man asked him. “Who do I remind you of?” 

Aang looked at Zuko and asked him for help. “Zaheer looks and sounds like a familiar someone. Can you help me out?” Zuko looked at the man, humorously squinting at him pretty much.

“I mean...he looks like he could be in this band called Black Flag,” he asserted and then asked Zaheer, “You look like Henry Rollins. Are you actually Henry Rollins????” Zaheer grumbled, making Aang and Zuko assume that he might have encountered similar assumptions here and there. 

“I believe you have mistaken me for the former Black Flag frontman, gentlemen,” he said to the two. “Humorous compliment, but no, I am not Henry Rollins. Although I do own a grey shirt, I might have ran a podcast show here and there, and I might have owned some old Black Flag records.”

“Cool. Cool cool cool,” Zuko said nonchalantly as him and Aang awkwardly looked at each other. “Well...we’ll be enjoying the rest of the show, it’s nice meeting you...sir.” 

*

After Sozin’s Comet and Darkness Falls played their set, it was now BadgërMöle’s turn to play their music. The gang helped them set up their rigs and performed a brief soundcheck just to make sure everything is up and running. Toph then grabbed the microphone and tapped it with her index finger. 

“How are we doing tonight?” she asked the crowd. They responded back with the sounds of rowdy cheers and applause. “My name is Toph Beifong and this is my band, BadgërMöle. We’re going to kick off the set by playing a song from a band that was a great deal of influence for us. The mighty fucking Motörhead! This song is called Going to Brazil! Here we go.”

Ty Lee counted off the song using her drumsticks and proceeded to play a Ramones-esque drum beat, with Mai playing the intro solo of the song. On Ji and June laid down a bluesy rhythm section of the song in unison. 

“Here we go again, on a 747! Looking at the clouds from the other side of heaven! Smoking and drinking, never gonna stop! Reading magazines, stop me looking at the clock! Wanna watch the movie, can’t keep still! Flying down to Rio, going to Brazil!” Toph sang into the microphone as the audience danced to the groove of upbeat rock ‘n’ roll music. 

As the song kept going, Mai threw in a bluesy Chuck Berry-esque solo after the second verse and chorus section, her technique also emulating Phil “Wizzo” Campbell’s. “Steve, Clem, Hobbsy, John, Crazy Dil and Pappy! Had to travel second class! They ain’t too fucking happy! Elevator music, butter in my ears! Think we’re gonna die! Just the pilot changing gear!” June sang in unison with Toph, her gruff Lemmy-esque vocals complimenting Toph’s melodic delivery. Mai stomped on her wah pedal, intensifying her bluesy solos while the rest of the crowd moshed until the song came to an end. 

The audience cheered as the band started to take in their positive reception. “These bands are pretty good, not gonna lie,” said Azula as she was warming her picking hand up on the guitar. 

“Don’t worry dude, if we express the same amount of passion just like what we did back at our last gig, we’ll do just fine here,” Sokka assured her. “We got a lot of heavy riffs...might as well pull off that Evile cover.” After BadgërMöle finished their set; Zuko, Azula, Sokka, and Aang began to set up the rigs they borrowed from Mai’s music room. Azula looked at her reflection on her Dean From Hell, which then morphed into the image of Dimebag Darrell in front of her own eyes.

“You’re gonna kick ass out there, getcha’ pull!” said Dimebag. His image then faded away, turning back into Azula’s reflection. 

“Hey, come on,” said Zuko as he planted his hand on his sister’s shoulder. As she got up, she plugged in her cable into the amp’s input on one end and into her Dean From Hell with the other. Turning on the Mesa Boogie Road King, she rolled up her guitar’s volume knob as the sounds of buzzsaw distortion began to come to life. Sokka turned his Marshall amp on and played some palm muted notes on his newly acquired ESP Jeff Hanneman guitar. Ear-piercing feedback began to set the mood for Realm of Koh. As Zuko stood in front of his microphone, he cleared his throat and strummed his open E bass string, letting the note reverberate through his bass amplifier. 

“We are Realm of Koh, we play thrash metal, and we’re going to kickstart our show with a cover that has been covered by another band, which was originally by another band…” said Zuko. “This song is originally by a punk band called Verbal Abuse, but the version we’re playing is by fuckin’ Slayer.” The audience cheered, yelling Slayer and throwing the horns as Zuko stood where he was. “Sokka, do the audience a favor.”

Sokka approached his microphone and began to speak into it. “I want to see you guys form a circle pit when I say these words, ready?” The audience cheered back. Sokka then took a deep breath and projected his voice into the mic. “DISINTEGRATE YOU BASTARDS!!!!”

Azula threw down the first few chord progressions, following up with Aang throwing in a quick snare drum fill and the rest of the band catching up. “I've done overdose it doesn't mean shit! One time what about you it doesn't bother me a bit! My body is a weapon and my mind is in decay! And all you stupid assholes are here to see me play!” Zuko shouted into the mic, feelings of anger being released at the same time. “Disintegration, disintegration, disintegration! Disintegration, disintegration, disintegration!” The circle pit in front of them was nothing but an intense surge of chaos. People slamming into each other and headbanging to the ferocious intensity of their music. 

After Zuko threw in the second verse and chorus, Sokka jumped into his microphone. “This one’s also by Verbal Abuse, it’s called Free Money!!!!” Aang counted off the song with his hi-hat, Zuko playing a rapid-fire bassline. 

“I don't want your problem! Sopping all the time! I can't even go! When I don't even have the time! I want everything and every thing wants me! I want everything and every thing comes out of me!” Zuko sang into the mic. “I want free money! I want free money! I want free money! Life is slavery working nine to five! Waste your time working! You might as well die! I want everything and every thing wants me! I want everything and every thing comes out of me!” After he finished off the last verse of the song, the band brought the song to an abrupt end. The audience briefly stopped moshing and cheered, along with Katara and Suki. 

“I must say...Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Zaheer said to the two girls. “This is the reason why I wanted these guys on my roster. Over-the-top, in-your-face, and extremely raw thrash metal is what they’re good at.” 

“So...does that mean we’re in?” Katara asked him. 

“After they’re done with their set, I’ll talk to them about it,” said Zaheer as he huddled around the two girls. “However, the short answer is...yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was one long ass chapter, hopefully Chapter 9 will be up as soon as possible. Stay safe and stay metal, guys!
> 
> If you guys wanted to listen to the songs that were covered in this chapter, here they are:
> 
> https://youtu.be/_2JTCd_lLOg (Azula's go-to Van Halen song when she was at Sam Ash with the gang)
> 
> https://youtu.be/MhtbZ9uZ9_I (the Motörhead song Toph's band covered)
> 
> https://youtu.be/9PqnKHKMhtk (Slayer's Verbal Abuse cover, as covered by Realm of Koh)


	9. Headbanger Face Rip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realm of Koh gets a well-received reception from their audience and they play an iconic song for their encore. Zuko and Mai begin to bond over mutual interests, while they attempt to conceal their feelings for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 has arrived. This one may have some mushy moments, but we get to see Mai and Zuko develop some chemistry here!

The sounds of scooped midrange distortion hissed out of Sokka and Azula’s amplifiers as they continued to play their trademark thrash riffs. The sounds of an open E string being tremolo picked and downpicked at a rapid pace accompanied the clanky bass tones coming from Zuko’s rig. Aang’s drum kit endured his intense and insane Lombardo-esque style, the snare projecting a crisp snap and the cymbals ringing in clarity as he played a clean skank beat. His double kick pedals played consistent 16th notes as he pummeled through. 

“Contemporary Black Plague! Mass extinction of man! From the blink of an eye! The clock is passing by!” Zuko screamed out the bridge section of one of his band’s original songs. “Reaching the hell we have created! Changing of the seasons! Extinction...is...imminent!”” 

Azula performed a divebomb reminiscent of Dimebag’s and stomped on her wah pedal right after. The sounds of chaotic shredding fitting right in with the constant bombardment of aggressive thrash riffs. Sokka and Zuko thrashed back and forth in sync while the crowd continued to mosh in a counterclockwise circle.

Sokka then performed a Hanneman-esque solo, a mix of random diminished scales with a hint of harmonic minor. Pulling up on his Kahler tremolo, the guitar’s notes screeched as if they were the sounds of hellish agony. 

Azula went for another solo after Sokka’s, throwing in some tapping licks and a clean, yet atonal sounding run as she stepped on her wah pedal. Coming in with a wah pedal-infused divebomb, she emulated Kerry King’s sound as she shook on the tremolo arm. 

“Bacteria consuming the body! Simultaneous cremation! Mass obliteration of mankind!” Zuko sang the last verse section of the song. “Radiation poisoning is widespread! Mutation of bodily functions! The apocalypse has arrived!” 

Katara and Suki hung out with the members of BadgërMöle, all of them watching Realm of Koh play their set and the insane circle pit they summoned. “I must say...they’re pretty damn good,” said June as she drank a bottle of Coors. “For a thrash band, they’re not bad...they just sound like a mix of Slayer, Sepultura, Death, and Onslaught. Not that it’s a bad thing.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Suki. “To be honest, Slayer is their number one favorite band.”

“Really?” June asked her.

“Funny story, but my boyfriend and Zuko actually met because Zuko wore a Slayer t-shirt,” Suki replied. “My boyfriend came up to him, and I shit-you-not, he said ‘fuckin Slayer’ and Zuko replied back. They ended up becoming friends on that day.”

“When was this?” Mai chimed in.

“Back when we were in high school,” said Suki.

“Azula’s really good,” Ty Lee changed the topic. “Sokka is too, but Azula has this unique approach whenever she is playing guitar.”

“You’re not wrong,” said Mai. “Her and Kyoshi are literally the craziest lead players I’ve ever seen.” As Mai brought up Kyoshi’s name, the tall woman unintentionally appeared out of nowhere with her two bandmates, Rangi and Lek. Mai looked at her and her jaw dropped. “You guys were really good, I’m surprised Zaheer signed you guys into his record label.”

“Aha, thanks,” she chuckled. “You guys were really good, too.”

“What are your thoughts on Realm of Koh?” June asked Kyoshi.

“For a straight up thrash metal band coming from a prominent scene, they’re good,” she replied. “Heavy as fuck though, I like them. I’ll look forward to collaborating or touring with them sometime in the future.” 

The band’s song came to an end and they slowly lowered their volume to zero. The audience cheered, horns raised up in the air, and the sounds of applause were coming from the circle pit. Zuko looked at the crowd, a subtle smile forming on his face. “Thank you,” said Zuko as he grabbed his microphone. “You guys want an encore?” The audience cheered again, prompting Zuko and the band to play their very last song on their setlist. 

“Alright...this last song is an iconic one. A classic thrash tune.”

Raising their volumes back to ten, Sokka and Azula both chugged out an E power chord. Aang drummed on his rack and floor tom simultaneously, three times to be exact. The sounds of whammy bars being fiddled created a dissonant wave of feedback. As Aang hit the rack and floor tom again, Azula played a tritone-esque lick two times. Sokka followed and harmonized for the last two measures. 

Aang blasted through his kick drums as he drummed, while the two guitarists and Zuko played the iconic gallop riff. Going for the fast chromatic riff, Aang went for a skank beat as the rest of the band tremolo picked. The circle pit resumed, having maintained its intensity. 

“TRAPPED IN PURGATORY! A LIFELESS OBJECT ALIVE! AWAITING REPRISAL! DEATH WILL BE THEIR ACQUIESCENCE!” Zuko shouted. “THE SKY IS TURNING RED! RETURN TO POWER DRAWS NEAR! FALL INTO ME, THE SKY’S CRIMSON TEARS! ABOLISH THE RULES MADE OF STONE!”

The band continued to play the next section of the song, headbanging in front of the audience. “PIERCED FROM BELOW, SOULS OF MY TREACHEROUS PAST! BETRAYED BY MANY, NOW ORNAMENTS DRIPPING FROM ABOVE!” Azula and Sokka played the intro riff again, with Sokka harmonizing the last two measures. “AWAITING THE HOUR OF REPRISAL, YOUR TIME SLIPS AWAY!”

The band played the breakdown section of the song, Azula windmilling her hair to the rhythm of the song while Sokka played a descending chromatic riff above the breakdown riff. Katara, Suki, and the rest of BadgërMöle grooved along with it. “RAINING BLOOD! FROM THE LACERATED SKY!” Zuko shouted into his mic again. “BLEEDING ITS HORROR! CREATING MY STRUCTURE, NOW I SHALL...REIGN IN BLOOD!!!!!”

Aang counted off from his open hi-hat and played a skank beat. Sokka and Azula attempted to create the sounds of hell with their guitars, utilizing their delay pedals from their rigs while Aang bashed on his drum kit. Zuko thrashed his head around, letting his long hair flow like a leaf in the wind...or in this case, a tornado. As the song came to an end, the audience gave their applause. The sounds of wild metalheads going crazy was music to their ears. 

“Big thanks to the man who set this show up,” said Zuko as he looked at Zaheer. Zaheer was standing next to Katara and Suki, giving off a smile towards the band. “Good night everyone.” While Sokka, Zuko, and Azula began to deconstruct their rig; Katara went up to Aang and gave him an affectionate kiss. 

“Babe, did I do good?” Aang asked her. 

“Of course, Aang,” she said to her boyfriend. “You guys obviously killed it out there.”

Ty Lee went up to Azula as she put her beloved Dean From Hell back into its case. “Soooo...you guys kicked ass tonight,” she said to her. “I like your guys’ music.”

“Thanks,” said Azula. “Playing live shows is something I can cherish I guess.”

“I can agree to that,” said Ty Lee. “Hey Azula…”

“What’s up?”

“I was wondering...umm...if you want to...you know –”

“Go out?” Azula interrupted, her eyes locking with Ty Lee’s. 

“Yeah...how did you know that?” Ty Lee asked her.

“I guess I’m just a people person,” Azula joked. “But in all seriousness, I know that you like me, Ty Lee. Remember the first time we met?”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Ty Lee denied. In fact, she was flirting with Azula just a teeny tiny bit. 

“Bro. You did, but anyways, I’m down,” said Azula. “Where and when do you want to meet up?”

“I’m not sure, but you can text me the date and location whenever,” she said to her. Ty Lee then planted a kiss on Azula’s cheek, causing her to blush instantly. As the gang was still conversing with each other, Zaheer walked up to them to talk about his decision. 

“I have made my final decision,” said Zaheer. The gang waited in anticipation for this moment to happen as Zaheer intentionally hesitated to announce his answer to them. Taking a deep breath, the older man began to speak. “You’re in.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped. “W-wait, we’re signed to Red Lotus Records?” he stammered. Zaheer nodded his head yes and the band tittered. “Holy fucking shit, we’re in!” He looked at Suki and repeated his phrase to her. “We’re in!” Suki was also shocked as she heard the announcement and then began to bizarrely make out with Sokka. Zuko was standing next to the two, feeling uncomfortable by their public display of affection, but he was happy with the outcome of his band’s status. 

“Hey,” said Mai as she approached the bassist. 

“Hey Mai,” Zuko spoke back.

“I just want to say congratulations, we’re officially labelmates now,” she said.

“Yeah,” Zuko let out a brief chuckle. “I never thought that my band would be in this scenario.”

“I feel you, I also never thought that BadgërMöle would be signed to a record label as well.”

Zuko scratched the back of his head, thinking of the next thing or topic to ask her without making the conversation feel awkward. “So Mai,” he began to speak. “What did you think of our set?” Mai looked at him, sensing his adorably awkward tendencies whenever he talked. 

“You know...whenever you’re on stage, you sound like you just came from Hell; but when you talk to me, you sound calm...and gentle,” she replied. “Other than that, you guys are fucking crazy. People really like moshing to your guys’ music.”

“Oh, thanks,” Zuko chuckled. “You probably would’ve enjoyed our show at the Ba Sing Se nightclub then.”

“Was that show really crazy, too?” Mai asked him.

“Let’s just say that it was a really packed night. We were opening up for a thrash metal band that was a big influence to us, Kemurikage.”

“I’ve heard of Kemurikage. June and I went to go see them play at the Whisky a while back,” said Mai. “They put up a good show and the pits were crazy.”

“They do. I’m surprised you knew about another band that came from Republic City,” said Zuko.

“Yeah, that town’s scene is flourishing. Kemurikage, you guys, and some other band that started off as a Metallica tribute band.”

“Wait, a Metallica tribute band?” Zuko asked. “Care to elaborate?”

“Yeah...frontman kinda looks like you, but he had spiky hair like Hetfield,” said Mai. “They started off as a tribute band, now they formed their own sound. I think they’re named Raava.”

“Oh shit,” said Zuko. “I’ve heard of Raava. One of their band members wore my band’s merch in one of their promotional photos.” Zuko pulled out his phone and went on the band’s profile. He then showed Mai one of their promo photos. He pointed his finger at a girl who sported a bob cut and a Realm of Koh shirt. She also carried a dark metallic blue ESP LTD M-1 Custom ‘87 guitar in front of her. 

“Talk about representation right there,” Mai slightly chuckled. “All three of you guys should be called the Big Three of Republic City Thrash or something.”

“We’re technically in the Bay Area, so I guess we’re a part of some revived Bay Area thrash scene,” Zuko countered. “But we just have our own sound, just like how Kemurikage and Raava have their own sounds.”

“Stop right there bud,” said Mai. “You make a good point, but all three of you guys sound like your 80s counterparts.”

“Seriously?” Zuko questioned her.

“As I mentioned earlier, Raava started off as a Metallica tribute band...but their original content still sounds like classic ‘Tallica,” Mai explained. “Kemurikage and you guys are slightly similar. Y’all got dark overtones and aggressive riffs, the only difference is that you guys emulate bands like Slayer and Sepultura.”

“Going with what you’re saying, I hung out with Kemurikage when we opened up for them,” said Zuko. “I asked them ‘who were your biggest influences?’ and they told me they were influenced by bands like Exodus, Vio-Lence, and Death Angel.”

“Well you read my mind, Mr. Bass Player,” said Mai. “They were big Bay Area thrash fans. I’m surprised you know about Vio-Lence and Death Angel.”

“My uncle had a huge record collection and sometimes my sister and I would snoop at his metal records whenever we were bored,” Zuko recalled. 

“Okay, I’m not surprised about that part. Oh fuck, I should’ve told you earlier about my record collection!” Zuko’s eyes grew wide open when she mentioned her record collection. That alone probably made him like her a lot more probably.

“So, tell me about your record collection.”

*

The next morning, Zuko waited outside the hotel parking lot to get picked up by Mai. Looking down at his phone, the screen projected its bright light on his face. “Two minutes until eight,” he mumbled to himself as his foot tapped on the sidewalk. Looking to his left, he saw a grey 2005 Camry roll up to the entrance of the lot and inside it was Mai.

Rolling down her window, she peered her head to see Zuko. “You’re up early,” she said to him. “Get in.” Zuko opened the front passenger door and sat down. Buckling his seatbelt, Mai backed out of the lot, letting the other drivers give her as much space as possible while traffic was still as irritating as it is. 

“Mind if I play something on my phone?” Zuko asked Mai. She nodded her head yes and unplugged her AUX cord from her phone. Zuko then plugged his phone in and went on his Spotify app, finding an ideal playlist or album for his trip to Mai’s place. “I got some old school thrash and death metal if you’re down for that,” he said to her.

“Go for it,” she encouraged Zuko. Zuko selected one of his favorite death/thrash albums, Schizophrenia by Sepultura, and played the one minute acoustic instrumental: The Abyss. “Interesting choice, Zuko,” Mai commented. The sounds of classical guitar were briefly soothing...that is until it came to an end. The next track, Rest in Pain, immediately emerged with a bombardment of brutal thrash riffage. Despite the partially raw production, Mai didn’t mind how heavy the song was.

Zuko lightly thrashed his head and played air guitar while the song played. Mai chuckled at his reaction and threw the horns gesture in front of him. “This was one of my favorite records,” said Zuko. 

“Does Azula like this band too?” Mai asked him.

“Yeah, she does. Pretty much all of us in Realm of Koh are huge classic Sepultura fans,” Zuko replied. “Remember my band’s rehearsal a couple days ago?”

“I remember now. You guys did play a Sepultura song, but it wasn’t the one you’re playing right now.”

“Yeah, we played Inner Self. That’s one of our go-to songs. That, Troops of Doom, Mass Hypnosis, Propaganda, what else…” Zuko trailed off. “Oh and Refuse/Resist!”

“Refuse/Resist? Play that shit!” Mai exclaimed. Zuko grabbed his phone and selected the Chaos A.D. album. He clicked on the opening track of the album, the sound of tribal style drumming combined with the heaviness of all things metal. “CHAOS A.D! TANKS ON THE STREETS! CONFRONTING POLICE! BLEEDING THE PLEBS!” the two of them sang in unison. “RAGING CROWD! BURNING CARS! BLOODSHED STARTS! WHO WILL BE ALIVE?!” Mai and Zuko headbanged to the next couple of riffs and sang the next verse and chorus section.

When the solo part came up, Zuko air drummed while Mai pretended to fret the guitar as if she was imitating the song’s solo. They resumed their headbanging session when the intro riff came back and then sang the last verse and chorus section. Zuko looked at Mai, seeing her smile as the song was coming to an end. He felt like he had some sort of connection with her because of their mutual love for bands like Sepultura. When she turned her eyes to see him, he briefly looked away but still blushed. 

A couple of minutes had passed by and the two arrived at Mai’s place. It was a modest, yet modern looking home located in the hilly neighborhood of Silver Lake. Parking her car on the driveway, she turned off her engine and opened her door. Zuko followed suit and breathed in the fresh air as he stood up. “You live here?” Zuko asked her.

“My family does, but right now, they’re on vacation with my little brother, Tom-Tom,” she said to him. “If I were to move to L.A., I probably wouldn’t afford a house like this.”

“It’s expensive living here,” he added on. 

“Tell me about it,” Mai laughed as she unlocked her door. Entering the foyer, Zuko marveled at the spaciousness the place had. There was an upright piano in the living room, along with a huge sectional and an acoustic guitar on a stand next to the piano. Zuko looked closely at it with further inspection and discovered that it was a Martin guitar with a capo on the headstock. To be more specific, it was a D-28 acoustic. “That guitar belonged to my dad,” she unintentionally snuck up behind Zuko, catching him by surprise. “It was also the first guitar I ever owned.”

“Your dad was a guitar player?” he asked her out of curiosity. “My dad was too.”

“Yeah, he was some sort of multi-instrumentalist,” Mai replied. “Him and my mom were musicians back in the day.” She picked up the Martin acoustic and strummed all six strings with her thumb. “Hold up, it hasn’t been tuned for a bit,” she commented as she adjusted the tuners. Once it was tuned to pitch, she grabbed the capo and placed it on the first fret of the guitar. Mai then grabbed a guitar pick from the sheet music stand and played a crisp G major chord. 

“Do you mind if I play you a song?” she asked Zuko, feeling a sense of nervousness at the same time. Zuko nodded his head and Mai proceeded to take a deep breath. “It’s a cheesy song, but I like it,” she said.

She strummed a C major chord and then played an F major chord. “If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose myself,” Mai sang. “Everything I have found, dear; I’ve not found by myself, try and sometimes you’ll succeed to make this man of me, all of my stolen missing parts I’ve no need for anymore.”

Zuko began to zone out of his surroundings and focused on the sound of Mai’s singing. For a metalhead like her, she also seemed to have a knack for singing some ballad-esque songs. “I believe, and I believe ‘cause I can see; our future days, days of you and me.” She then played the intro melody of the song and slowly came to an end. Muting the strings with her palm, she stayed quiet for a little bit and looked at Zuko.

“Pearl Jam?” he asked her.

“Yeah, how did you know?” she asked back.

“My Uncle’s into that kind of music,” he said to her. “I’m not a huge fan, but your cover sounds really good.” Mai blushed and immediately put her guitar back on the stand. 

“Oh, umm...thanks Zuko, that’s nice of you,” she blushed slightly. “You want to go see my record collection?” 

“I was going to bring that up, but yeah, let’s go.” Mai got up from her piano seat and pushed back to its original spot. She then escorted Zuko to her room, which was where most of her record collection was located. Once Zuko entered her room, he fathomed at her vast collection of vinyl records and CDs, old and new.

“Voila. This is my record collection and CD collection. Ranging from punk and hardcore to extreme and traditional metal to classic blues and rock,” she announced. “Just don’t steal my shit because it took me years to get this to where it is.”

“I’m not even contemplating on doing that,” said Zuko. He knelt down and read the CD and vinyl spines. They were categorized in different genres and in alphabetical order, so the first category he wanted to check out was the thrash metal section. He started with the first letter of the alphabet, starting with bands like Acid Reign, the Accüsed, Angelus Apatrida, Annihilator, Anthrax, Artillery, Aura Noir, and so forth. “What are some of your favorite albums?” Zuko asked her.

Mai grabbed an Onslaught vinyl from the shelf and showed it to Zuko. “Power from Hell by Onslaught is one of my favorite records,” she replied and grabbed another record from the shelf. “And this is one of my other favorite albums...well it’s an album and EP combined together. Sacred Reich’s Ignorance and Surf Nicaragua, both originally released in ‘87 and ‘88, this combo was released back in ‘07.”

“Sacred Reich is underrated as hell,” said Zuko as he turned around to see Mai holding the two records. His eyes then focused her two guitars that were placed next to the record collection. On the left was her natural ash 70s Fender Stratocaster with the rosewood fretboard, black pickguard with a single DiMarzio humbucker and Floyd Rose bridge. On the right was a snow white ESP LTD M-1000 with an ebony fretboard, two EMG pickups, and a black Floyd Rose bridge.

Behind the two guitars was a Peavey 6505 112 Mini Stack 20-watt tube head with a 1x12 cabinet and in front of it was a minimalistic collection of pedals: an Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer, a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, a Dunlop Echoplex delay, a Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, and a Dunlop Zakk Wylde wah pedal. They were all connected by a couple of patch cables and a daisy chain that was linked to a 9-Volt adapter. 

“Holy shit Mai,” Zuko dawned over her bedroom rig. “You have a sick setup right here.” Mai diverted her attention from the shelves full of records and looked at Zuko worshipping her entire setup. 

“Yeap, that’s my songwriting station right there, don’t fuck with the settings though,” Mai warned him. 

“I won’t but I am wondering why you don’t play this ESP guitar at all the BadgërMöle shows?”

“I got that guitar recently, but I am planning to play some live shows with it soon. The Strat is currently my main touring and recording guitar.”

“Do you want to give me a demo? I can’t play guitar for shit.”

Mai grabbed her small barstool and removed her ESP guitar from the stand. She then reached for two cables from her wall and untangled them. She plugged one cable into her amp and the Tube Screamer; and plugged the other cable to her wah pedal and guitar. Turning on her Peavey amp, she waited for the tubes to warm up. Once they were warmed up, her foot pressed on the pedals and she slowly moved her volume knob up, allowing the distortion to seep through.

“I have one question to ask you Zuko,” said Mai.

“What is it?” he asked. Mai took a deep breath and began to ask her very important question.

“Will it chug?” she asked.

“Let’s find out,” Zuko laughed.

She then played an E power chord, palm muting each note as she performed a mix of galloping and tremolo picking. “Alright, I’m going to play one of my warm up songs,” said Mai. “I’m going to play the intro to Point of No Return by Havok, which goes like this.” She started off with the main riff and then went for the pre-verse riff. 

“Did your band ever play songs like this one?” he asked.

“Not really, the only thrash stuff we played were bands like Anthrax, early Metallica, and maybe Overkill.”

“You guys killed that Anthrax cover when you guys played at the Whisky,” said Zuko.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “I’m not that good, but I try to be.”

“I think you’re pretty good,” Zuko spoke as he was attempting to not flirt with Mai right away. “You can shred though right?”

“Kind of, but your sister and Sokka are good at that stuff. I kinda have this bluesy feel sometimes,” she answered. 

“That’s a good thing though,” Zuko assured her as she turned her amp off and put her guitar away. “I think you’re probably one of my favorite guitar players.” Mai blushed when she heard him say that. 

“That’s very sweet of you Zuko,” she said to him. “Umm...is there something else you want to do today?”

“I dunno, I’m down to listen to some records. Oh on second thought, guess what I found.” He showed her the CD version of Testament’s 2012 album, Dark Roots of Earth. “I didn’t know you like this band.”

“I liked that album. They seem to get better with each new release, but that’s probably just me though.”

“They’re great, I wish I saw them live. They’re also one of my band’s influences.”

“Wanna listen to it?” she asked.

“Go for it” Zuko handed Mai the CD and she popped open the disc tray on her CD player. She then inserted the CD, closed the lid, and turned on the CD player. The first track played, a sonic assault of thrash riffs projected out of the speakers. He chuckled at this experience, reminding him of the time he played his uncle’s records back at his place in Republic City.

“Well goddamn,” said Zuko.

“What is it?” Mai asked him.

“This just reminds me of home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well goddamn, it's done. Chapter 10 will be here as soon as possible, if I don't procrastinate or mismanage my time while I am in college. As always, stay safe and stay metal, guys!
> 
> For those of you wondering what acoustic song Mai was singing to Zuko, it was Future Days by Pearl Jam.  
> – also, for those who like guitar gear, her saying "will it chug?" is a reference to a series created by Ola Englund (The Haunted, Six Feet Under) 
> 
> link to Will it Chug? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXMwtXJnJ93ge3F-ATMTn_wQQo1_f6opr
> 
> Here are the Sepultura songs Zuko played in her car
> 
> https://youtu.be/um8H5wXv7hQ (The Abyss/Rest in Pain)
> 
> https://youtu.be/6ODNxy3YOPU (Refuse/Resist)


	10. Freewheel Burning/Living After Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ty Lee spends her time hanging out with Aang, Katara, and Azula. They discover that she has a lot in common with them. Her and Azula develop some serious chemistry, but will they take it further? Let's find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 is here. Azula is just like her brother, a bit awkward, but it's for a good cause. This chapter also contains some mushy, but sweet TyZula moments.

Azula looked out the window of the van and saw Ty Lee coming out of June’s house. “Thanks for being able to go on this date with me, Azula,” said Ty Lee as she entered Aang’s van. 

“Well...it’s apparently a double date,” Azula replied back as she looked at Aang and Katara. The other two wanted to tag along for the rest of the day while Zuko was hanging out with Mai at her place. Initially, Azula wanted to decline but since it was nice outside, she decided to take them under her wing. “You’ve met my drummer and his girlfriend before.” 

“Oh yeah, I met Aang at the launch party. Nice seeing you again,” Ty Lee chirped and looked at Katara. “And you must be his girlfriend, nice meeting you again.”

“Nice seeing you too,” Katara greeted back. 

“Okay Azula, what’s the plan today?” Ty Lee asked the guitarist. Azula was unsure on how to answer that question, so she turned to Aang for his suggestion. 

“We didn’t go to the drum section of Sam Ash the last time we went there, so let’s try to go there again,” said Aang. He shifted his gear selector from park to drive and entered the busy streets of Los Angeles. “Anyone want to be a DJ today?” Ty Lee pulled her phone out and gestured to Aang to hand her the AUX cable. He lent her the cable and after she plugged it into her phone, she selected the latest Judas Priest record, Firepower, and played the opening track. 

“Ahh, you’re a Priest fan?” Aang asked her. “Dave Holland and Scott Travis are phenomenal drummers.”

“For real though!” Ty Lee exclaimed. “Those two, Phil Taylor of Motörhead, Clive Burr, and Nicko McBrain are some of my favorite metal drummers!”

“Can’t forget Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, killer guitar duo right there,” Azula chimed in. Ty Lee looked at her in amusement when she responded. “My uncle had Judas Priest records in his house. Zuko and I would listen to them whenever we had free time.”

“That’s so cool!” said Ty Lee. “My band played a couple Priest covers when we had our first jam sessions.”

“Same here,” said Aang. “Even though we played the iconic songs. Songs like Painkiller, Electric Eye, Freewheel Burning.”

“Yeah, going with what Aang said, not only did we play Priest songs, we also did Iron Maiden covers and our usual thrash metal covers,” said Azula. 

“Oh damn...I guess our bands have something in common then,” Ty Lee laughed. “So, we’re going to Sam Ash? I might as well stock up on some drumsticks when we get there.” 

Today was Aang’s lucky day once again. After driving down Sunset, he found a free parking spot near the Sam Ash store and this time, he was paying for the amount of hours added on the booth. The group walked on the pedestrian crossing and entered the Sam Ash drum shop. Inside the store was a drummer’s paradise: walls with cymbals, deconstructed drum kits, electronic drum kits, a vast array of other percussion instruments, a variety of drumsticks, and other drum/percussion-related gear. 

“Two words: holy...shit,” Aang gasped. He was breathless when he saw the vast amount of products in the store. An employee greeted the group with the usual welcome and they nodded back. Aang decided to settle down on an electronic drum kit and grabbed a set of headphones that were attached to the kit. Pulling out a set of Vic Firth 5A sticks, he turned on the kit’s console and tested the drums and cymbals out. Ty Lee sat down on a kit next to where Aang was playing and followed suit. 

Aang began to play a fill on his snare and his right foot was tapping on the bass drum. He then swiftly drummed on the rack toms and the cymbals. The sounds of his drumming were almost jazz-like, but there was that intensity that came from his punk and metal background. Aang then tried to incorporate an Igor Cavalera-esque style of drumming, tribal rhythms that had a sense of groove but was intense at the same time. Ty Lee observed his style, mentally taking notes on how to drum with such ferocity and fluidity. Aang then came to a subtle stop, sitting still and taking a deep breath before coming in with a percussive assault. Quick drum fills, skank beats, and blast beats began to dominate the kit as he played. 

Feeling inspired by his drumming, Ty Lee decided to stir up her own style of drumming. She played a Bonham-like triplet and a standard rock drum beat. Coming to a sudden stop, she gave herself a few seconds before immediately going for a D-beat style pattern and eventually went for a skank beat. She then slowed her tempo down, now incorporating a groovy style of drumming. Azula looked at the two drummers, seeing how fluid and smooth their playing was, although Aang had a more extreme style to his drumming. 

“Hey Katara, check this out,” she said. Katara walked over to where Azula was standing and saw the two drummers jamming out on the electronic kits. 

“It’s like their drumming skills are in sync,” Katara commented. When Ty Lee finished her brief drum session the moment Aang ended his, she turned around to see Azula and blushed in embarrassment. 

“Relax Ty Lee, I’m not going to make fun of you,” Azula comforted the drummer, placing her hands on her shoulders. “You and Aang have some similar grooves and rudiments. I’m kinda impressed by that.” Ty Lee let out a subtle smile and looked at her golden irises. 

“Thanks,” said Ty Lee. “Want me to teach you?”

“Oh, I’m not that coordinated, sweetie,” said Azula, feeling unsure about that opportunity.

“Trust me, I’ll give you some basics,” she said to her in a slightly flirty tone. Azula sat down on the drum throne as Ty Lee gave her the sticks she used and stood behind her. “Lemme guide you Azula.” She gently clasped her wrists and let Azula’s right hand cross over her left hand. 

“Hey Aang, is this how you learned how to play drums?” Azula asked her drummer, who was still on the electronic kit. He looked at her and let out a small chuckle.

“Nope, but that looks fun,” he replied. “I should probably use that method when I teach Katara on how to play drums.”

“Yeah, no,” Katara butted in. “But seriously, that’s kinda cute Ty Lee.”

“Whatever guys,” Ty Lee mumbled and resumed her lessons with Azula. She began to gently speak in her ear. “Okay, you see that kick pedal? Use your right foot to press down and it’ll make contact with the bass drum.” Azula followed her calm command and her foot pressed down on the pedal, causing the electronic bass drum to produce a sound. 

“Okay, now lightly lift your foot up.” Azula then lifted her foot up while it was still firmly planted on the pedal. Ty Lee then gently coordinated Azula’s left hand and the stick it was gripping on lightly hit the snare. She then coordinated her right hand to hit the hi-hat cymbal. “Voila, you just learned how to drum,” she cheered. 

“That was a very hands-on lesson right there,” Azula commented. 

“I know,” Ty Lee blushed but then she came to her senses. “Oh shit, I gotta buy sticks, that’s also why I’m here!”

*

The group headed back to June’s place and parked on the curb that was in front of it. Entering the building, the group felt a sense of quietness and saw June in the kitchen cooking some food on the granite-top island. There was also a German Shepherd waltzing around, something the group never saw (well except for Ty Lee of course). He approached Katara, whose eyes were lit when she noticed him coming to her.

“Oh who’s this little guy???” Katara asked the dog as she affectionately petted him. June looked at the group and saw Katara petting the dog. 

“That’s Nyla, he’s a people person,” June answered across the room. 

“Just like Azula,” Ty Lee flirted and nudged her elbow at Azula. The guitarist blushed at her comment and let out a somewhat forced smile as her response. “I’m going to go upstairs and put away my drumsticks.” Katara and Aang nodded as they headed for the kitchen. Azula was about to do the same, but Ty Lee stopped her in her tracks. “You gotta check this out,” she said to the guitarist and dragged her upstairs.

The two entered her room and Azula noticed that it was just like a miniature version of the downstairs studio the band jammed in. To Azula’s right, there were band flags hanging on her wall: a Slayer flag, an Iron Maiden flag, a Metallica flag with the “...And Justice for All” artwork, and a Motörhead flag. A twin sized bed was placed in front of the wall of flags. Next to the bed was a shelf that housed a small record collection and a Victrola suitcase portable record player that sat on top of the shelf. 

To her left was a desk that had a MIDI keyboard, a Macintosh desktop computer surrounded by two Yamaha studio monitors on both sides. Next to it was a Roland V-drums kit and a Simmons DA25 drum speaker. Across from where the bed was is a somewhat huge flatscreen TV with an Xbox One below it. The room was basically a teenage metalhead’s dream fleshed out. “Pretty cool, right?” Ty Lee asked Azula as she placed her pack of drumsticks on the desk. 

“I’m surprised you and June live here,” said Azula. 

“Yeah. Part recording studio, part home,” Ty Lee laughed. “It’s where we record most of our music.”

“Self-releasing records, very independent of you guys,” said Azula. “My band recorded our first demo at my uncle’s place. The entire setup was kinda crude layout-wise, but we did our best to pull off a solid three-track demo.”

“Who was in charge of mixing the audio?” she asked as she headed for the drawer that was on the other side of her bed.

“If I can recall, it was probably Aang or Sokka,” Azula answered her question. “My brother and I weren’t huge experts on audio engineering, but that day alone taught us to invest in getting recording interfaces if in the case that we wanted to record some tracks on the get go.”

“Makes sense,” said Ty Lee as she pulled out two joints from a Ziploc that was hidden in her drawer. She then opened her window, letting the fresh air enter the room. “Care for a smoke?”

“I’m not a fan of getting high though,” Azula defended herself. 

“It’s a CBD joint, relax,” Ty Lee assured. “I’m not into getting high either, but I have moments where I feel stressed out so I use this as my relaxation method.”

“I do get stressed out here and there, so I guess why not,” Azula gave in as she sat down on the bed. Ty Lee grabbed her swivel chair and placed it in front of Azula. She then pulled out a lighter and placed it on the end of Azula’s joint, lighting it up as she began to inhale the scent. Using her three fingers to remove the joint from her lips, Azula spewed out a small cloud and slightly coughed. 

“First time?” Ty Lee asked her. 

“Yep, first time taking a smoke and I also had my first drink,” said Azula, cringing at the amount of smoke she took. 

“First drink? Wow look at you,” Ty Lee laughed. “What was your first drink?”

“A Black Tooth Grin,” she answered.

“The Dimebag drink? You’re really ballsy, I hope you know that.”

“I mean...it happened when Dimebag’s ghost appeared in front of me.”

“You’re fucking kidding? Are you for real?”

“Yeah, it was probably three or four in the morning and I said his signature catchphrase to summon him. When that happened, he just appeared out of nowhere as if he was like the second coming of Jesus.”

“Is that how you got your guitar?” Ty Lee asked her.

“Yeap, that’s right,” said Azula. “There’s probably a Dean Custom Shop in the Spirit World...if there even is one.” She then inhaled her joint without hesitation and exhaled a flawless puff of smoke. 

“I’m not going to jump to that conclusion, but at least you’re being truthful,” Ty Lee assured her as she smoked her joint. Azula marveled at Ty Lee and thought that she was really pretty. The issue was that she just doesn’t know what to say, despite the fact that Ty Lee was giving her hints that she has a crush on her. She decided that now was the time to tell her.

“So Ty Lee,” Azula slowly spoke. “Can I tell you something?”

“What’s up?” she asked. 

“Remember that time when I said to you that you liked me?” she asked her shyly. 

“Yeah, I remember. That was yesterday,” Ty Lee laughed. “What are you trying to tell me Azula?”

“Well…I...umm, oh Jesus, this is going to be awkward,” Azula mumbled, but then she decided to take a deep breath and exhaled a huge amount of carbon dioxide out of her respiratory system. “I like you too.”

“You like me?” Ty Lee asked her. “Like as a friend or what?”

“Not as a friend though,” Azula elaborated. “I actually harbor the same feelings that you have.”

Ty Lee was surprised to hear such a revelation and Azula awkwardly silenced herself after speaking out her honest truth in front of the girl who displayed her affection towards her. Azula felt a sense of nervousness as Ty Lee took her time to digest those comments she heard. She then inhaled the last remnant of her CBD joint and placed it on an ashtray next to the record player. 

“If you want to, you can ask me to be your girlfriend,” she whispered into Azula’s ear. Azula’s face lit up and she looked at the drummer with confidence in her heart. 

“Okay umm...Ty Lee,” Azula spoke. “Will you be my girlfriend?” Ty Lee nodded her head yes and Azula’s mind was undergoing a sense of relief, saying ‘oh thank god.’ Her own soul was probably doing celebratory backflips because of that decision. Azula put her joint on the tray and got up from the bed. “Well, I’m going to get some water, so I’ll be back,” said Azula.

Before she took a step near the door, Ty Lee briefly stopped her. “Hold up,” she said to Azula. “Before you go get water, you deserve this for being honest with me.” Her lips made contact with Azula’s, who gave in right away and reciprocated it with passion. It was brief, but Azula cherished that moment to the point that it was a photographic memory. When Ty Lee parted her lips from Azula’s, she opened the door and escorted her downstairs, holding hands along the way. 

Azula smiled and she knew that today was probably her lucky day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is somewhat short and sweet, but anyways, Chapter 11 will be here as soon as possible. College is starting up in a few days, so hopefully I'll be able to try and write this story while juggling with my classes. As always, stay safe and stay metal, guys!


	11. Metal Militia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko tells Mai his band's origin story while the two of them are chilling out at her place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 is finally here. We're going to learn about how Realm of Koh came to be. Subtle Maiko moment in this chapter, but I won't tell you where.

Zuko grabbed one of the bean bag chairs in Mai’s living room and plopped his body right onto it. Looking up at the blank ceiling, he began to space out and reminisce of the times he had shared with his sister and his bandmates. “Do you need anything to eat or drink?” Mai asked him as she was about to head to the kitchen. He came back to his senses and looked at the girl, marveling at her physique as she stood in front of him.

“What do you have?” he asked her.

Mai opened the refrigerator and looked to see if there was anything in there. “I have a couple water bottles, some lemonade, a pack of beer, and some Yakult,” she listed. 

“What’s in the pantry?” Zuko continued. Mai closed the fridge and opened the cupboard that contained most of the snacks and other munchies. She gave herself a couple of seconds to inspect the cupboard, making sure there were enough snacks for the two of them to enjoy. 

“Cheetos, Sabritones, some saltine crackers, Oreos, jerky,” said Mai. She decided to grab two small bags of Cheetos and tossed one to Zuko, who caught it with one hand. 

“I’ll go grab the lemonade,” said Zuko as he got up from the bean bag chair. Mai settled down on the other bean bag chair and opened her bag of Cheetos. 

“So, that was a decent listening session,” said Mai. 

“It was only one CD though,” Zuko retorted as he took a sip from a bottle of Minute Maid lemonade. “Was your dad a metalhead or something back in the day?”

“Not really, him and my mom don’t like my music,” she laughed. “They just happen to be some huge folk fans or whatever. Fuck...they probably like the classic stuff.”

“When you mean the classic stuff, you mean stuff like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?” he asked. 

“No,” she answered. “They’re into stuff like Glen Campbell, Neil Diamond, or some folky, country type of music.”

“That’s not surprising considering that your dad plays an acoustic,” Zuko commented. 

“Yeah, that’s definitely not surprising at all.” 

“Is your brother into the same music that you’re into?”

“I’m trying to get him into it, but he’s into a shit ton of classic rock. He wants to be Jimi Hendrix or something.”

“That’s not a bad start,” said Zuko. “My uncle was a huge classic rock fan and my sister and I learned a couple classics when we first started to play our instruments.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool. What’s it like having an uncle who was in a band that was somewhat successful?” Mai asked. 

“My uncle and my dad were in a band together,” Zuko specified. “I just see them as my family members, not as some famous rockers or whatever the industry depicts them to be. My uncle was a big father figure to my sister and I.” He recalled the time Iroh’s band’s gold and silver records were hanging on the wall. It was basically their representation of being a successful band, from a commercial standpoint. Zuko wanted his band to be successful, but he also wanted the band to stay true to their sound and to not sell out, so it was the complete opposite of his uncle’s band.

“I see,” said Mai. “Your uncle likes your guys’ music, right?”

“If he didn’t, then Realm of Koh wouldn’t be where they are right now. Speaking of that, how did you end up in BadgërMöle? Were you the first guitarist they hired or what?”

“On Ji was the first guitarist, you know...the hot girl with the Flying V.”

“Oh yeah, I remember her.”

“Anyways, we apparently all went to the same high school together and they had this poster on the bulletin board saying ‘looking for a lead guitarist in a heavy/thrash metal band’ and below it said ‘influences are: Motörhead, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Anthrax, and 3 Inches of Blood,’ along with their phone number,” Mai explained. “You know what I did? I decided to call them and ask if I can audition on a specific date...and that’s when they hired me.”

“No regrets,” Zuko added. 

“Yup, no fuckin’ regrets is the right answer. How about you? How did you end up in Realm of Koh?” she asked the bassist. 

“Well...it’s a very long, but interesting story. Make sure your bean bag chair is comfortable,” said Zuko. He then cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

*

Zuko parked his Chevrolet Cruze in one of the open spots of his high school parking lot. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his sister, who blankly stared at her reflection in the side view mirror. “Hey...is everything alright?” he asked his sister out of concern. She looked at him briefly and looked back into the mirror. 

“Last day of being a senior...although I skipped a grade and I’m supposed to be a junior,” Azula chuckled. “Everything’s fine Zuzu, I’m just happy to get out of this hell called high school.”

“I get that too,” he empathized. Zuko reached over to his backseat to grab his backpack and then proceeded to open the door. He dusted off his Slayer shirt and made sure it wasn’t wrinkled. In their minds, him and Azula were probably the only two metalheads in their school. They wanted to start a band the year before, but they had no luck with the people that auditioned for them. 

“Remember your schedule,” she reminded her brother. “I have Pre-calc at 8:30, Government at 10:45, and an open period.”

“I just have Mythology at 8:30, Art at 10:45, and I also have an open period,” Zuko replied back. “Hopefully, I’ll encounter some people who might be into the same shit we are into.” The bell rang and the two siblings went into their own separate paths. 

Zuko wasn’t huge into mythology, but it definitely had an influence in the way he wrote lyrics, so he at least enjoyed it. Azula was a huge math fan, and pre-calc, despite being a bit difficult, was something she enjoyed. The both of them had no luck finding fellow metalheads in their classes. After their first class ended, the two siblings met up during brunch time.

“Any luck?” she asked her older brother. 

“No luck,” he replied. “How was pre-calc?”

“It’s cool, we just had to introduce ourselves and shit,” Azula replied. “How’s mythology?”

“I could say the same. Maybe this next class could help us find some bandmates...who knows,” Zuko assured his sister. When the bell rang again, Zuko walked across campus to head to his class. As he walked towards the building to where his class was, the sounds of fast footsteps were pacing up behind him.

“Hey, you! Fuckin’ Slayer!” the sound of a male voice was heard. Zuko turned around to see a boy his age with long hair and brown skin. He had a Destruction t-shirt with the Release From Agony artwork, black skinny jeans, and a clean pair of white Adidas Pro Conference high tops with red stripes. “I thought I was the only one here at this school, there’s just so many damn people.”

“Yeah, I had that same feeling too,” said Zuko as he eyed on the boy’s shirt. “I didn’t know you like Teutonic thrash metal.”

“Hell yeah, they’re one of my favorites,” the boy said to him. “Name’s Sokka.” He reached his hand out in front of Zuko. Zuko complied and reached out to shake his hand.

“I’m Zuko, you new here?” he asked Sokka.

“Yeah, although I am from Republic City. My sister and I transferred from Yu Dao High School,” Sokka replied to him.

“Oh, I heard that place was kind of a shithole,” Zuko commented. “Republic City High School is a fancier shithole.”

“You can say that,” Sokka laughed. “Are you heading for art class too?”

“Yeah, with Mr. Piandao, right?”

“Yep. Oh shit, that must mean we’re classmates then,” Sokka exclaimed at his new revelation. 

“No fuckin way, that’s cool,” said Zuko. The two of them headed for class together and while they were walking, Sokka noticed that Zuko wore one of those Slayer tour shirts. 

“World Tour 2016…” he mumbled to himself and then decided to ask his new classmate. “So...you went to go see Slayer, eh?”

Zuko looked at him and he was glad he noticed that. “Yeah, my sister, my cousin, and I saw them a while back. We went to go see them play in San Francisco at The Warfield. I will tell you this though...the pits were fucking insane.”

“Lucky bastards…” said Sokka. “I’ve always wanted to see Slayer live, my dad’s a fan of theirs.”

“That’s cool. Do you play an instrument?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah, I play guitar,” Sokka answered. “Been playing for three, almost four years now. How about you?”

“I play bass and I have been playing for a few years now.”

“Oh, that’s dope. You said you have a sister, right?”

“Yeah, I do. She’s into the same stuff we’re into.”

“Oh shit, that’s fucking cool,” said Sokka. “Does she play an instrument too?”

“Yeah, she’s also a guitar player. Her and I have been wanting to start a band, but so far, we’ve had no luck,” said Zuko. The two boys approached the door to their art class, with Zuko opening the door. 

“How about your cousin?” Sokka asked him as he grabbed a seat.

“My cousin’s a music journalist, and he’s fresh out of college. He played a little bit of guitar, but he’s not into forming bands or joining them.”

“Ah shoot, oh well...hey, after class, let’s exchange numbers so we could all jam out,” said Sokka. “I know a guy in my neighborhood that plays drums.”

“Does he go to this school?” Zuko asked. 

“Yeah, I actually had class with him this morning. He also likes metal and he’s hella good at drums.”

“How good are we talking here?”

“Like Dave Lombardo good,” Sokka replied to him. “We played a couple Slayer covers at his house one time, he’s committed to his craft!”

“Alright, just let me know when and where my sister and I will meet up at.”

“I got you, bro.” 

After their first day of school was finished, Zuko entered his car and Azula followed. She noticed that her brother was smiling and quietly chuckling at himself. “What’s going on? Did something good happen? Did something bad happen?” Azula asked her brother. 

“I met a guy in my art class who likes the same music that we like,” said Zuko. “Plus, he’s friends with a drummer that goes to our school.”

“Oh shit, gimme five,” said Azula as she raised her hand in front of Zuko. “I met two people in my government class. They like the music that we like.”

“You do? Do they play instruments as well?”

“Nah, they’re just two hot chicks that like listening to metal...but one of them told me that her brother is a guitar player, so this search might end up in a full circle,” said Azula. “Anyways, did you tell that guitarist if we’re going to jam out sometime?”

“We’re jamming out this afternoon,” Zuko answered.

“Oh shit...where at?”

“His place...well...his garage, but he’s got a lot of space from what he told me.”

“Alright, well we better go get our shit and head to his place then,” said Azula. The drive back to his uncle’s house wasn’t far and luckily, the two siblings didn’t have any homework...since it was the first day of school. Azula carried her Gibson guitar case and a Boss Katana 50 combo amp out of her room, while Zuko hauled out his gig bag that contained his Fender JP-90 and his Acoustic B50C bass amp. 

“How’s school?” Uncle Iroh asked his nephew and niece before they put their gear in the trunk. 

“It was great, Uncle,” said Zuko. “I met some musicians and ‘zula and I are going to be on our way to go meet them.”

“Oh, wonderful,” said Iroh. “Well, don’t play too loud, kids.” He headed back inside and closed the front door. Zuko helped carry his sister’s amp and placed it in the trunk along with the rest of his gear. Azula then put her guitar case in the trunk and closed it shut. Zuko typed up the address to Sokka’s place on his phone and selected his metal playlist on Spotify. The trip from their house to his neighborhood took them 15 minutes or so, including the traffic and stoplight patterns. 

Parking his car in front of a modest-looking home, Zuko grabbed his phone and texted Sokka his current status. Within a few seconds, Sokka texted, ‘I’ll be down right now.’ Zuko put his phone to sleep and decided to get out of the car to get some fresh air, with Azula doing the same. As the two siblings grabbed some of their gear out of the trunk, Sokka exited his front porch and spotted the two siblings with their amps and instruments.

“So that’s your sister?” Sokka asked Zuko. “Hi, I’m Sokka.”

“Azula, nice to meet you,” she greeted back. "You're Katara's brother, no? She told me about you in government class."

“Yep, I'm her brother. Do you need any help?” he replied. “I just want to make sure you guys aren’t struggling to carry any gear and all.”

“Oh nah, we’re actually fine,” Zuko grunted, but he was able to carry both his amp and bass guitar with ease. “Just guide us to your garage, metal Jesus.” Sokka rolled his eyes, but he was amused at Zuko’s joke. 

“Alright well, I’ll bring you guys to the garage, my drummer friend is here too, just so you know,” said Sokka as he escorted the two siblings to the garage. When they entered the garage, it was very spacious from the looks of it. The two siblings then spotted a bald guy wearing a blue Suicidal Tendencies bandana, a sleeveless Municipal Waste shirt with the Sadistic Magician artwork on it, black cargo shorts, and a pair of monochrome black Vans SK8 Hi’s. 

“You must be the drummer that Sokka was talking about,” said Azula as she eyed on the young man. “I’m Azula.”

“I’m Aang,” said the drummer as he reached his hand out in front of her for a handshake. Azula shook his hand as she put her guitar case down. “The guy with the birthmark on his face, he must be your brother, right?”

“Yeah, that’s my brother Zuko,” she said. Zuko looked to see Aang conversing with his sister and he decided to scooch in. 

“Hi, I’m Zuko,” he introduced himself. 

“Nice meeting you, I’m Aang.” Sokka entered the garage with his Peavey 6505 Plus 1x12 60 watt combo amp and a gig bag that contained his dad’s Jackson Stars Soloist. 

“Alright, looks like we’ve all met each other,” said Sokka as he handed the two siblings a couple extra guitar cables. “So...are there any songs you want to jam to that we might know?” Zuko and Azula looked at each other in brief silence before they came to a conclusion.

“We could go for the basics and build our way up,” Azula suggested.

“Okay, what do you have in mind?” Aang asked her and Zuko. 

“Anyone down to play some Metallica?” he asked the group. “Master of Puppets, anyone?” Sokka’s eyes lit up as he tested his rig out.

“I’m down, Aang are you down?” Sokka asked his friend. Aang nodded his head as he settled himself onto his drum kit. “Alright, Master of Puppets it is. Aang-man, count it off!” Aang counted off on his hi-hat, with Sokka and Zuko playing the first few chords. Sokka then played a chromatic descent, with Azula laying down the other rhythm of the song. Aang played a cymbal choke at each rhythm until Sokka played the iconic spider riff, with all the downpicking power he utilized. 

Azula and Zuko joined in, both downpicking the intro section of the song. Azula then finished off the intro section with Kirk Hammett’s tritone riff. The group then played the verse riff of the song, the pre-chorus, the pre-chorus verse, and then the chorus riff. After they played the bridge riff, second verse, second pre-chorus and so forth, Sokka played the clean intro to the interlude of the song. Then he and Azula played the dual harmony solo, with Sokka playing James Hetfield’s harmony and Azula playing Kirk Hammett’s harmony. After that, Sokka played James’ solo with ease while Azula played the clean intro and then the two resumed their dual harmony solo.

The group then continued to finish off the remaining three minutes of the song without any flaws, ending it with Sokka trying to emulate James Hetfield’s laugh. “Not bad, not bad,” said Zuko. 

“Hell yeah,” said Aang as he grabbed a bottle of water.

“So...you said that you and your sister are trying to start a band right?” Sokka asked Zuko.

“Yeah, a thrash band. Why?”

“Do you want Aang and I to join your band then?”

Zuko looked at Azula and asked for her opinion on the subject matter. “They’re good, but let’s try another song to see if they’re really up for the job,” she said to them. 

“Okay, give us another song that we’ll be down to play,” said Aang.

“Alright...hmmm,” Azula began to think of what song would be viable for the three of them to play. “Repentless by Slayer, are you okay with that?” Sokka and Aang nodded their heads, then they looked at Zuko and asked if he was down to play that song.

“I can also do vocals, so yeah,” he said to the group. Aang counted off on his hi-hat once again, with Azula playing the main intro of the song. Sokka and Zuko began to lay down the extra rhythm and the rest of the band played the intro in time. When the verse riff kicked in, Zuko attempted to project his voice.

“Arrogance, violence, world in disarray! Dealing with insanity every fucking day! I hate the life, hate the fame, hate the fucking scene! Pissing match of egos, fuck their vanity!” Zuko shouted. “Ain’t got the time, I don’t want anything from you! Feeding on my tolerance is all you fucking do! No looking back, no regrets, no apologies! What you get is what you see!”

“Live fast! On high! Repentless! Let it rhyme!” Zuko sang the chorus.

He then sang the second verse, and then repeated the chorus section of the song. Azula then replicated Kerry King’s first solo, which was a dissonant melody of the intro riff mixed in with some hammer-on pull-offs and a divebomb. Sokka then improvised his solo similar to Gary Holt’s and Azula followed up with her rendition of Kerry’s solo. Sokka finished off the solo section with Gary’s solo, utilizing a wah pedal for emphasis. 

Azula then played the break of the song, following it up with Zuko singing the first verse of the song again. He then sang the last chorus and Azula played the last bridge solo. The entire group then played the outro altogether and ended it as if they played the song in a live setting. 

“So...are we now official band members of your no-name thrash band?” Sokka asked.

“Well...yea. Zuko and I just wanted to see how you guys would fare,” said Azula. Sokka pumped his fist in the air and gave Aang a fierce high-five. 

“So does your band have a name or something, or should we call it the no-name band?” he asked Zuko in a jokingly manner.

“I actually do have one...had it in my mind for a while,” said Zuko. “I named the band Realm of Koh.”

*

“Wow,” Mai deadpanned as she munched on the last of her Cheetos. “Sounds like an interesting origin story right there.”

“I mean...had I not worn that Slayer shirt, that probably would’ve never happened,” said Zuko.

“Or if you and Sokka didn’t have art class together,” she added on. Mai looked at her phone and noticed that June texted her to come over to her place. “Talk about perfect timing, Mr. Storyteller. June’s telling me to meet up at her place, wanna tag along?”

“Yeah sure, but let’s go pick up Sokka and Suki so that they won’t feel left out,” said Zuko. The two of them stood up from their bean bag chairs and headed for the front door. After Mai locked the front door, the two entered her car and backed out of the driveway, driving down the hilly neighborhood and into the streets of Los Angeles. While Mai was driving with her left hand, she held her right hand with Zuko’s left hand. Zuko felt a sense of warmth in his palm and blushed as he looked at what was happening. 

“Well damn,” his mind spoke. “Well…damn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...that was great. Hopefully, I'll try to get Chapter 12 here as soon as possible, but college classes here in California are starting tomorrow, so I'm going to attempt to balance things out as much as I can. Other than that, I hope everyone is staying safe and staying metal. Peace!


	12. Suffer No Fool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko tells Mai about his friendship with his bandmates. Origin story, part two!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a six day hiatus, Chapter 12 is finally here! I apologize for the delay, I have been focusing on my college classes and man, it really made me get a case of writer's block unfortunately. In other news, the title of this chapter is a reference to the Power Trip song and the reason why I chose this song title as the name of this chapter is because it's kind of a dedication to Riley Gale, who unfortunately passed away a few days ago. For those who don't know who he is, Riley Gale is the frontman of the Dallas-based thrash metal band Power Trip. He was only 35 years old when he passed away...man that is really young, but his music and his legacy will live on!

On the way back to the hotel to pick up Sokka and Suki, Zuko and Mai faced the inevitable: heavy Los Angeles traffic. The traffic was so heavy, it was heavier than Meshuggah’s discography. The two decided to kill time by resuming their conversation from home. 

“I wanted to ask you this, but um...tell me about that Stratocaster you had,” said Zuko. “Where did you get that guitar anyway?” Mai looked at him as her car was firmly stopped in the middle of a traffic jam.

“It was some player-grade Stratocaster from the 1970s,” she answered. “I think it could’ve been a 1978 or a 1979 Stratocaster if I can recall, but anyways, I didn’t buy the guitar though.”

Zuko was aghast at the new revelation, so he decided to ask her. “You didn’t buy that guitar? Who bought the Strat?”

“It was a birthday gift from June,” said Mai. “You know, the super gothy bass player with the Rickenbacker.” Zuko responded by nodding his head yes.

“So, June is a huge fan of vintage instruments...well she doesn’t have the budget to get guitars from the 50s and the 60s, but she always liked how they were built. The instruments built in the 70s were around her budget, so she invested in two instruments: her ‘78 Rickenbacker, which is what she uses in every BadgërMöle show; and that player-grade Strat with the Floyd.”

“Did she tell you the backstory of how that Strat came to be?” Zuko asked her.

“Oh yeah. So from what she told me, the previous owner was in some hard rock band,” Mai explained. “He was also a fan of Steve Vai, so he partially made the guitar resemble Steve’s 1977 Stratocaster. However, the guitar had a rosewood fretboard, but it apparently sounded fine.”

“Go on.”

“The previous owner also installed an original Floyd Rose and drilled out a cavity to fit in his humbucker, which was NOT the DiMarzio that’s currently on it.”

“So...what did the guitar have?” Zuko pestered her.

“Just some DiMarzio PAF pickup from the 70s. However...fast forward to sometime before the present day, the guy bought a custom pickguard from Warmoth. One volume, and one angled humbucker cavity,” she continued. “Guy decided to get a DiMarzio that’s currently in that guitar and boom, the Mai-caster was born.”

Zuko wanted more answers. His mind was hungry for curiosity. “Well...how did June get the guitar then?”

“Man, you really like asking questions. She stole it from him,” she answered with monotony in her voice. Zuko’s jaw dropped, somehow.

“Wait, she did not just–”

Before he could jump to his conclusion, Mai decided to butt in to make him change his mind. “I’m just fucking with you,” she chortled at his dumbfoundedness. “She got it on Craigslist for $2500. Contacted the guy via text, went to his pad and gave him a wad of cash for it. Turns out, he’s heard of her band and was in awe when a band member of a well-respected underground metal band is his customer.”

“Wow,” Zuko spoke in slight awe. 

“Yeah bro. June told the guy ‘I want to buy this guitar as a gift for a bandmate of mine,’ and he obliged to do so. She showed him a video of one of our recent shows at that time and he was happy to oblige.”

“Sounds like a swell day.”

“It definitely was,” said Mai. “How about you? I’m sure there was more to your band’s origin story.”

“You seriously want me to tell you a sequel to my band’s origin story, this is the sequel,” Zuko responded in defense.

“Yeah, but what was the story AFTER your guys’ first jam session?” Mai insisted. Zuko sighed and breathed deeply. “Like, how did y’all meet your two bandmates’ girlfriends.”

“Okay, here’s the sequel.”

*

“Realm of Koh?” Sokka asked him in amusement. While it was a cool sounding band name, the guitarist himself wanted something that was more straightforward. He looked at Aang and asked, “What are your thoughts on that name?”

“I think it sounds cool,” Aang replied. 

“What did you have in mind, Sokka?” Azula asked him. Her and Zuko were always in search of good band names too, but this one was chosen by Zuko because it sounded mysterious. 

“A couple: Wildcrash, Heretics Fork, Crossbreaker, MechaTank…” Sokka trailed off. “That’s all I had in mind.” The rest of the band , except for Aang, blankly stared at him. “What?”

“Those are cool names, but if you think about it, what does Realm of Koh and good metal music have in common?” Zuko asked him.

“What do they have in common?” Azula mumbled sardonically. Zuko rolled his eyes at her response and looked at her. “Hey, I’m just curious, that’s all.”

“They both involve ripping faces off!” Zuko exclaimed. “Well...in mythology class, I learned that the spirit who resides in the Realm of Koh steals faces...but you get the point.”

“Sounds like a great way to start your first day of class, but I’m sure you learned about the Realm of Koh from a TV show,” Aang interjected. “Didn’t he steal some hot chick’s face and all?”

Zuko looked down, feeling a bit dejected. “Yep, he did.” 

“That’s rough, buddy!” Sokka jabbed at him. A girl who looked kind of like Sokka opened the door and entered the garage, looking at the band standing still as they heard her open the door a few seconds prior. She had long flowing dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes, just like Sokka. She also sported a Bad Religion “Crossbuster” shirt under a blue flannel, a pair of dark grey jeans, and a pair of worn Chuck Taylors. 

“Hey, you were in my government class,” she said. Katara’s eyes shifted and looked at Zuko. “Were you in my geometry class during my sophomore year?” the girl asked him. 

“I remember that,” Zuko replied, awkward pauses coming out of his speech. “I sat by the corner of the room...nice to see you again.” Katara smiled and looked at Aang, who immediately looked away from her the second she laid eyes on him. Zuko looked at him and then looked at Katara. “You know Aang too?”

“Yeah, I guess he’s considered a ‘family friend’ or something,” Katara lied. She harbored feelings for Aang ever since Sokka introduced him to her, but she wasn’t sure if he liked her back (plot twist, he does). “Sokka, your girlfriend’s here,” she teased her older brother. Sokka blushed in embarrassment, while Azula chuckled at this brand new fact about him. Katara looked away from the band and gestured at someone to come in. After that, a fairly skinned girl with neck length auburn hair entered the garage; she wore a black Power Trip longsleeve, a pair of blue jeans, and a worn pair of white Adidas Decade high tops with blue stripes.

“Hey everyone,” she greeted and eyed on Sokka, smiling at him afterwards. “Sweetie.”

Zuko and Azula attempted to hold back their laughter, but stifled nevertheless, much to Sokka’s embarrassment. “Is she your actual girlfriend?” Zuko whispered to him. “You’re pretty lucky man, she’s hot.” Sokka nodded to his question and whispered back to Zuko.

“Yeah, she’s my girlfriend, but we are attempting to not show off our relationship,” he said to the bassist. 

“You’re in my Government class,” Azula spoke to Suki. Suki’s attention was then directed at Azula. 

“Oh yeah! Wow, what a small world,” Suki laughed. “Yeah, you must’ve met my boyfriend already.”

“Well I actually knew him through my brother, who knew him because they had art class together,” said Azula. “Small world indeed.”

“Yep yep,” Sokka butted in after he put his guitar back into his gig bag. “What’s going on, Sukes?” He then brought her into a slow embrace.

“Not much,” she replied as she pecked him in the cheek. “Your sister thought today was a good day to hang out and all so she texted me. Drove down to your guys’ place and noticed that you brought in your neighbor and two new folks.” Sokka turned his head around to see Zuko and Azula chilling out in the middle of the garage, with their instruments slung over. 

“Zuko and Azula,” he said. “Him and I had art class together today, it was pretty fuckin’ sick!”

While the couple was conversing with each other, Azula unplugged her guitar and put it back into its case. She then walked up to Katara and attempted to start a conversation with her. “So...how long have you actually known Aang?” she asked her. “He isn’t just a ‘family friend’ is he?”

“About a couple of months now,” Katara replied. “He recently moved into the neighborhood and...yea, I haven’t met his family. He did tell me that he was adopted though. For someone who really likes metal, he’s really calm.” She gave Azula the notion that Aang seemed like a really cool guy and it turns out that she was right. 

“Being the obvious metalhead here, I can confirm that,” Azula laughed. 

“So, you’ve seen my brother play guitar and you jammed out with him, what else is going to be up next?”

“We did recruit your brother and Aang into our band...in case you were wondering what that whole muffled discussion was in the garage.”

“Oh boy...Sokka’s been wanting to form a band or join one ever since,” said Katara. “Before you guys even came into the picture, it was only him and Aang. What genre is your, you know, band?”

“Umm, thrash metal,” Azula replied.

“Thrash metal...as in bands like Metallica?”

“Well, yeah. I wrote down some original riffs and they’re more in line with bands like Slayer and Testament,” said Azula. “Do you play an instrument too? How about Suki?”

“I don’t play an instrument sadly,” said Katara. “But Suki can sing, ask her if she wants to sing a song that you guys know.” Azula thanked Katara for her response and gave her a fist bump before approaching Suki. 

“Hey...Suki, right?” she asked the auburn-haired girl. Suki nodded her head yes and smiled at the guitarist. “Katara told me you can sing.”

“If you’re asking me to be your frontman, I can’t do that,” said Suki. “I don’t practice harsh vocals.”

“Zuko already took that over, but I was wondering if you can just sing this one song that I think everyone in the band knows,” Azula specified. “Do you like Iron Maiden?” Suki’s eyes lit up and her jaw slightly dropped.

“Yeah, I love Iron Maiden. What song do you want me to sing?”

“I was thinking Children of the Damned,” Azula answered. She then looked at Sokka. “Hey loverboy, do you want to play a Maiden song? I’m down to play Children of the Damned and Suki’s going to sing.” Sokka looked back at her and rested his chin on his thumb and index finger. 

“I’m down, lemme ask Aang.” Sokka then tapped Aang’s shoulder and asked him, “are you down to play some Iron Maiden? Suki’s singing.”

“What song?” Aang asked him as he got back onto his drum kit. 

“Children of the Damned,” said Sokka as he opened his gig bag. “Imma go plug my guitar back in.”

“Oh, that’s a sick song! Let’s get to it,” said Aang. “Zuko, you down play Children of the Damned by Iron Maiden?” Zuko stood in the same position he stood in when the band was still playing, his bass still plugged into the Acoustic bass amplifier. 

“Umm...yeah, I’m down. That’s a good song,” Zuko replied. “I can’t sing like that though.”

“Suki’s singing,” Aang assured him. Sokka turned on a portable PA system and handed a microphone to Suki. He adjusted the settings so that the vocals won’t drown out the other instruments. 

“Babe, can you see if the microphone works?” Sokka asked his girlfriend. “I’m going to continue adjusting the settings and if I give you a thumbs up, that means it’s leveled out.” Suki nodded her head and brought the mic close to her lips. She counted from one to four on repeat while Sokka tinkered around the controls. Once it was leveled out, both him and Azula plugged their guitars back into their amps. “I noodled around with this song a bunch of times, but let’s do this!” Aang counted off the song with his drumsticks.

Azula strummed the first couple of chord progressions to the song, the strings ringing with clarity as he changed chord positions. Sokka did the same, but added a little overdrive when he covered Dave Murray’s intro solo. Zuko played Steve Harris’ basslines with ease while Aang was grooving along to Clive Burr’s drum parts. 

“He’s walking like a small child,” Suki sang with melody in her voice. “But watch his eyes burn you away. Black holes in his golden stare. God knows he wants to go home.” She then took a deep breath and projected her voice when the chorus kicked in, bringing in some sustain in her high notes. The band brought in some overdrive from their amps simultaneously. “Children of the damned! Children of the damned!” Children of the damned! Children of the damned!”

*This chick can sing,* Zuko thought. *Sokka is one lucky bastard.*

Suki then sang the second verse of the song. “He’s walking like a dead man. If he had lived, he would have crucified us all. Now he’s standing on his last step. He thought oblivion? Well, it beckons us all!!!” Then she repeated the chorus line four more times until the bridge section started. “Now it's burning his hands. He's turning to laugh. Smiles as the flame sears his flesh. Melting his face, screaming in pain. Peeling the skin from his eyes. Watch him die according to plan. He's dust on the ground, what did we learn?” Suki sustained the last note and Sokka played Dave Murray’s solo note-for-note. Then Azula played Adrian Smith’s solo, emulating the same tapping notes just like the recording. 

Suki sang the iconic Maiden chants and the outro of the song. Hitting a high note on “children of the damned,” the rest of the band was shocked at her ability to sing that well. 

“How did you learn how to sing like that?” Azula asked, feeling impressed by her talent. 

“I took singing lessons as a kid and I did a little bit of high school choir last year,” Suki explained. “Oh and I sing in the shower a lot.”

“I can relate to that,” said Zuko. 

“The singing lessons part, the choir part, or the ‘I sing in the shower’ part?” Sokka jabbed at him, causing Zuko to grumble at himself.

“The ‘sing in the shower’ part,” he confessed. The gang laughed in amusement, causing Zuko to deeply exhale out of his nostrils in disappointment. “But if you think about it, you guys would be on a desperate search for a frontman.” Azula pursed her lips in agreement while Aang and Sokka blankly stared at him. 

“He does make a fair point though,” said Aang. “The band name, the harsh thrash vocals, the overall atmosphere.”

“We haven’t written any original songs, though,” Sokka complained. 

“I got a couple in mind, but I’ll text you guys my drafts sometime before our next hangout,” said Azula. The day after that, Zuko hung out with his sister and their bandmates during brunch and after school. They also scored some tickets for bands they wanted to see and checked out some local shows. The one show they ended up seeing was Kemurikage’s show at the Misty Palms venue somewhere in downtown Republic City. 

On the night of that event, the weather was somewhat warm and the line outside the venue was fairly sized. Zuko, Azula, Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Suki gathered together while they had their tickets in their pockets. The other folks around them were clad in battle jackets and white high tops, much like the band members themselves; except for Azula, who didn’t have a spare thrash shirt in her wardrobe. She wore a Dream Theater shirt that featured the 1994-95 Awake tour.

“What?” Azula defended her decision. The gang briefly backed off when she responded. “This band was also the reason why I shred with articulation.”

“Alright, alright,” said Aang. “You do you, bro.” After that whole situation, Katara decided to talk to the other sibling.

“So, I’ve listened to Kemurikage a few times, but this is the first time I’m going to see them in a live setting,” said Katara. “When did you guys discover this band?”

“I was randomly surfing on Spotify,” Zuko laughed. “Apparently, they had few albums and they just released a new one this year. They have that good ole intensity and they’re probably one of the pioneers of the Republic City thrash scene.”

“So technically speaking, they’re from the Bay Area,” Suki pointed out. “Wouldn’t that mean they’re a part of the Bay Area Thrash Scene?”

“Yeah, but they weren’t around at that time though,” said Zuko. “These guys were probably around when Municipal Waste formed.”

“I see,” said Suki. “I’m crossing my fingers in case I don’t get hurt in the pit.”

“Come on Sukes, it’s not like they’re going to do karate in the pit,” said Sokka. “Karate in the pit...oh Jesus Christ...the flashbacks. Invisible ninjas...the horror.” 

“You saw someone do karate in the pit?” Zuko asked him.

“Yeah,” said Sokka. “When Katara and I were in middle school, my dad took us to Warped Tour over the summer and there were these core bands playing a show...normally when my dad played shows, we’d always see circle pits and shit.”

“Was your dad playing a show at the time?”

“No, but his friends were. Anyways, we were backstage supporting my dad’s friend’s band and we saw a bunch of folks doing that shit in the pit area in front of the stage. It’s like they’re practicing some firebending techniques like on that TV show, but without shooting flames out of their hands and feet.” Zuko looked at Katara and asked for her side of the story.

“Yeah, I’ve seen those pits too. I’d say the pits we’ve been to recently were much better than what Sokka and I saw when we hung out with my dad’s friends at Warped Tour,” said Katara. “Zuko, remember the Denny’s Grand Slam video? ”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he slowly facepalmed himself. “All the local shows we went to were thrash, crossover, and death metal shows just to clear things up. Also, that Denny’s video was...oh god.”

“Exactly, it’s just like Warped Tour, but inside a Denny’s,” said Katara. “It’s kinda laughable.”

“Are you talking about that video where some metalcore band was playing in an abandoned Denny’s?” Azula asked the two. Katara and Zuko nodded their heads yes and Azula rolled her eyes with disdain. “Fuck that shit.”

“Yeah, fuck that shit,” Katara emphasized Azula’s words. “Anyways, Suki, I think we’ll do just fine...as long as people don’t do dumb shit like that.” Suki sighed in relief. The gang entered the main area of the building and stood closer to the stage. On the stage were an assortment of instruments. A red 8-piece Pearl Export drum kit with drum mics placed close to it, a Marshall JCM 800 head with a 4x12 cab on the left, a Marshall 2555X Silver Jubilee head with another 4x12 cab on the right, and a Crate B200 XL bass head plugged into a Crate BX215E bass cab. In front of the JCM 800 was a red 1990 Ibanez RG550 and in front of the Silver Jubilee was a black Charvel San Dimas Style 2. The bass guitar in front of the Crate amp was a sunburst Fender Precision Bass. 

More people entered the building and gathered themselves onto the dance floor. After a couple of minutes of waiting, five people entered the stage and picked up their respective instruments. Once they were ready to perform, the drummer counted off on his hi-hat. They began to play a groovy three-minute instrumental reminiscent of Obituary. The guitarists’ amps projected a chunky Obituary-esque tone as well, along with the bassist’s rig. Zuko, Azula, and Sokka headbanged in front of the band while Suki, Katara, and Aang stood and watched the band play their instrumental.

Their instrumental introduction came to an end and the audience gave the band a huge applause. After that, one of the guitarists approached the microphone and spoke into it. “What the fuck is up Republic City?!?!?” he projected his voice into the mic. The audience cheered in response, throwing the horns and all. “You know who we are. We’re going to kick off the set with a song from our first record, Smoke and Shadow!” More applauses were heard. “This song is called...Slaughtered by Fire, here we go!!!!” 

The drummer counted off the song and played a loud skank beat. A circle pit began to form behind the gang and the people next to them were headbanging violently. “Holy shit,” Suki exclaimed. “This is some crazy shit right here!”

“Fuck this shit, I’m going in!” said Aang as he disappeared into the moving crowd. Azula tagged along and ended up getting caught in the mosh. Zuko and Sokka were headbanging with the other folks in front of the stage, while Suki and Katara followed suit. The distinct smell of weed was spread throughout the room and Sokka inhaled the scent with great emphasis. After the song ended, the crowd applauded in a wild manner and the gang reunited back into the front of the stage. Suki was shocked that Aang and Azula came back in one piece.

“So...how was the pit so far?” she asked the two of them.

“Cathartic...tiresome...one...hell...of...a...workout,” Azula panted. She slowly raised her right hand and made the horns gesture in front of Suki. “

“What she said,” Aang added on. After Kemurikage finished their show, the gang went outside to get some fresh evening air. Luckily for Sokka and Suki, they managed to bring some goodies for themselves. Once they entered Aang’s van, Appa, Sokka opened the glove compartment and found two rolled up joints. 

“Care for a smoke anyone?” he asked the gang. Most of them declined, but Suki was the only one who responded to his question. She pulled out her lighter and lit up Sokka’s joint. “Lemme guess, you smelled the weed in the room too?” he asked her as he exhaled smoke from his joint. Suki nodded her head yes as she placed the joint between her lips and exhaled a swift stream of smoke in front of him. 

“Any thoughts on the show, Katara?” Aang asked her. 

“Fucking sick!” she exclaimed. “It was loud as fuck though, so I am going to end up falling sleep with tinnitus.” 

“How about you guys?” he asked Zuko and Azula. Before Zuko could share his thoughts about the show, Azula stepped in and shared her opinion.

“It taught me one thing,” said Azula. “We gotta make some kickass music and pull off some kickass shows.” Aang nodded in agreement and looked at Zuko, expecting him to share his thoughts.

“Zuko, what do you think?”

“Same thing as Azula, if they could pull off an insane show, so could we...we just need to make our music sound as solid and heavy as possible.”

*

“The end,” said Zuko. Mai eventually entered the parking lot of the hotel and parked in a guest spot of the hotel’s parking lot. “Well, do you have any feedback about this whole ‘sequel?’” Mai looked at him and chuckled as she turned off her car engine.

“You’re friends with a guy who looks like he could be in Suicidal Tendencies, a stoner couple, and a girl next door. Plus, your sister is basically just like you, except she is an up-and-coming virtuoso guitarist,” Mai laughed. “If I hung out with you guys sooner, I couldn’t imagine how crazy the adventures would be.”

“We didn’t really have any crazy adventures though,” said Zuko. “The ‘closest’ we had to that was running into a pirate metal group in Santa Barbara county.” Exiting the vehicle too, Zuko texted Sokka that he’s on his way back to the room and that he and Suki should meet up with him. As the two of them entered the elevator, Zuko pressed the button that led them to the floor of their hotel room. There was a sense of peace in the elevator, except that the two of them could hear the sounds of the elevator operating. Zuko looked at the BadgërMöle guitarist and she looked at him back. 

Zuko’s mind was going into a frenzy. His thoughts are scrambling on whether he should kiss this girl or not, but he decided to go for it. Luckily for him, Mai reciprocated those same thoughts too. The two of them began to passionately make out in the elevator, with Mai’s back leaning against the wall of the elevator. When the elevator arrived at the floor they were on, the doors opened. Zuko was living in the moment, feeling a heat of passion from Mai. It was short-lived though, as their passionate make out session was interrupted by Sokka, who was hanging out with Suki.

“Well look who scored himself a girlfriend!” Sokka teased his bandmate as he immediately opened his eyes to see Sokka and Suki standing in front of the elevator entrance with their arms crossed. Zuko blushed in embarrassment and attempted to hide his face with his hands. Mai covered her mouth with both of her hands as she was also embarrassed at the sight of Sokka staring down at the two.

“At least you like her dude,” Suki laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat adorably awkward way to end the chapter, good job Zuko! Anyways, Chapter 13 will be here as soon as possible. As always, stay safe and stay metal, guys!
> 
> For those who wanted to listen to the song that Suki sang, here it is:
> 
> https://youtu.be/nJvKSgTBezQ (Children of the Damned by Iron Maiden, a great song from a great album!)
> 
> What the hell is "Karate in the Pit?" Here it is:
> 
> https://youtu.be/wZdUW1_ptlg (No Karate in the Pit 101)
> 
> The Denny's video that Katara mentioned:
> 
> https://youtu.be/xbPwaAFHDG8


End file.
